The Impact of International Trade on Wages

The Impact of International Trade on Wages PDF Author: Robert C. Feenstra
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226239640
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Since the early 1980s, the U.S. economy has experienced a growing wage differential: high-skilled workers have claimed an increasing share of available income, while low-skilled workers have seen an absolute decline in real wages. How and why this disparity has arisen is a matter of ongoing debate among policymakers and economists. Two competing theories have emerged to explain this phenomenon, one focusing on international trade and labor market globalization as the driving force behind the devaluation of low-skill jobs, and the other focusing on the role of technological change as a catalyst for the escalation of high-skill wages. This collection brings together innovative new ideas and data sources in order to provide more satisfying alternatives to the trade versus technology debate and to assess directly the specific impact of international trade on U.S. wages. This timely volume offers a thorough appraisal of the wage distribution predicament, examining the continued effects of technology and globalization on the labor market.

The Impact of International Trade on Wages

The Impact of International Trade on Wages PDF Author: Robert C. Feenstra
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226239640
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the early 1980s, the U.S. economy has experienced a growing wage differential: high-skilled workers have claimed an increasing share of available income, while low-skilled workers have seen an absolute decline in real wages. How and why this disparity has arisen is a matter of ongoing debate among policymakers and economists. Two competing theories have emerged to explain this phenomenon, one focusing on international trade and labor market globalization as the driving force behind the devaluation of low-skill jobs, and the other focusing on the role of technological change as a catalyst for the escalation of high-skill wages. This collection brings together innovative new ideas and data sources in order to provide more satisfying alternatives to the trade versus technology debate and to assess directly the specific impact of international trade on U.S. wages. This timely volume offers a thorough appraisal of the wage distribution predicament, examining the continued effects of technology and globalization on the labor market.

International Trade, Wage Inequality and the Developing Economy

International Trade, Wage Inequality and the Developing Economy PDF Author: Sugata Marjit
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 364257422X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
This book deals with the impact that international trade is likely to have on the skilled-unskilled wage gap in a typical developing economy. This is the first theoretical monograph on this particular issue which has already generated substantial debate and voluminous work for the developed countries. A unique feature of this work is that it tries to explain the possibility of rising inequality across trading nations and looks at the segmented labour markets of the poor economies. It makes convincing arguments that the standard general equilibrium models, the main workhorse of trade theory, can be given a creative facelift to address a number of critical and emerging issues in the area of trade and development.

Sticky Feet

Sticky Feet PDF Author: Claire H. Hollweg
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464802637
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 123

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Book Description
This report quantifies labor mobility costs in developing countries and simulates the implied adjustment paths of employment and wages following a change in trade policy. High mobility costs are shown to reduce the potential gains to trade reform.

Wage-Led Growth

Wage-Led Growth PDF Author: Engelbert Stockhammer
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137357932
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
This volume seeks to go beyond the microeconomic view of wages as a cost having negative consequences on a given firm, to consider the positive macroeconomic dynamics associated with wages as a major component of aggregate demand.

International Labor Standards and International Trade

International Labor Standards and International Trade PDF Author: Mr.Stephen S. Golub
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451845537
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description
This paper reviews controversies regarding linkage of international trade and labor standards. Pressures for international harmonization of labor standards arise in the context of increased trade between countries with large disparities in wages, and also reflect the history of labor standards. A critical distinction is made between standards related to fundamental human rights and those related to employment conditions. The main conclusion is that trade sanctions to enforce labor standards should not be an option, but that international agreements on core labor standards, with voluntary compliance, may, apart from being worthwhile on ethical grounds, defuse calls for protection.

Making Globalization Socially Sustainable

Making Globalization Socially Sustainable PDF Author: Marc Bacchetta
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789223245832
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description


Trade and Income Distribution

Trade and Income Distribution PDF Author: William R. Cline
Publisher: Peterson Institute
ISBN: 9780881322163
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
"Cline also finds that trade liberalization has tended to raise skilled wages rather than reduce unskilled wages. Moreover, its impact has probably been no larger than falling transport and communication costs. Most importantly for policy, model simulations for the future show more limited trade impact than in the past and little unequalizing impact of further trade liberalization. Book jacket."--Jacket.

Women and Trade

Women and Trade PDF Author: World Bank;World Trade Organization
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464815569
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Trade can dramatically improve women’s lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choices, and increasing women’s bargaining power in society. It can also lead to job losses and a concentration of work in low-skilled employment. Given the complexity and specificity of the relationship between trade and gender, it is essential to assess the potential impact of trade policy on both women and men and to develop appropriate, evidence-based policies to ensure that trade helps to enhance opportunities for all. Research on gender equality and trade has been constrained by limited data and a lack of understanding of the connections among the economic roles that women play as workers, consumers, and decision makers. Building on new analyses and new sex-disaggregated data, Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality aims to advance the understanding of the relationship between trade and gender equality and to identify a series of opportunities through which trade can improve the lives of women.

Exports to Jobs

Exports to Jobs PDF Author: Erhan Artuc
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464812497
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
South Asia has grown rapidly with significant reductions in poverty, but it has not been able to match the fast-growing working age population, leading to lingering concerns about jobless growth and poor job quality. Could export growth in South Asia result in better labor market outcomes? The answer is yes, according to our study, which rigorously estimates—using a new methodology—the potential impact from higher South Asian exports per worker on wages and employment over a 10-year period. Our study shows the positive side of trade. It finds that increasing exports per worker would result in higher wages—mainly for better-off groups, like more educated workers, males, and more-experienced workers—although less-skilled workers would see the largest reduction in informality. How can the benefits be spread more widely? Our study suggests that scaling up exports in labor-intensive industries could significantly lower informality for groups like rural and less-educated workers in the region. Also, increasing skills, and participation of women and young workers in the labor force could make an even bigger dent in informal employment. The region could achieve these gains by: (i) boosting and connecting exports to people (e.g., removing trade barriers and investment in infrastructure); (ii) eliminating distortions in production (e.g., by more efficient allocation of inputs); and (iii) protecting workers (e.g., by investing in education and skills).

Raising Lower-Level Wages

Raising Lower-Level Wages PDF Author: Tomas Hellebrandt
Publisher: Peterson Institute for International Economics
ISBN: 0881327085
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
As the United States emerges from the Great Recession, concern is rising nationally over the issues of income inequality, stagnation of workers' wages, and especially the struggles of lower-skilled workers at the -bottom end of the wage scale. While Washington deliberates legislation raising the minimum wage, a number of major American employers—for example, Aetna and Walmart—have begun to voluntarily raise the pay of their own lowest-paid employees. In this collection of essays, economists from the Peterson Institute for International Economics analyze the potential benefits and costs of widespread wage increases, if adopted by a range of US private employers. They make this assessment for the workers, the companies, and for the US economy as a whole, including such an initiative's effects on national competitiveness. These economists conclude that raising the pay of many of the lowest-paid US private-sector workers would not only reduce income inequality but also boost overall productivity growth, with likely minimal effect on employment in the current financial context. "It is possible to profit from paying your employees well…and increasing lower-paid workers' wages is the way forward for the United States," argues Adam S. Posen in his lead essay (reprinted from theFinancial Times). Justin Wolfers and Jan Zilinsky argue that higher wages can encourage low-paid workers to be more productive and loyal to their employers and coworkers, reducing costly job turnover and the need for supervision and training of new workers. Tomas Hellebrandt estimates that if all large private sector corporations in the United States outside of sectors that intensively use low-skilled labor increased wages of their low-paid workers to $16 per hour, the pay of 6.2 percent of the $110 million private-sector workers in the United States would increase on average by 38.6 percent. The direct cost to employers would be $51 billion, only around 0.3 percent of GDP. Jacob Kirkegaard and Tyler Moran explore the experience of employers in other advanced countries, with its implications for international competitiveness, and Michael Jarand assesses the impact of a wage increase on the near-term development of the US macroeconomy. Data disclosure: The data underlying the figures in this analysis are available for download in links listed below.