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Structural Change and Wage Inequality in the Manufacturing Sector: Long Run Evidence from East Asia

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  • Bruno Martorano
  • Marco Sanfilippo

Abstract

This paper analyses the long run determinants of wage inequality in the manufacturing sector for a group of East Asian countries that have experienced rapid structural transformations in recent decades. In line with the skill biased technological change hypothesis, our results show that within manufacturing structural change which fosters the participation of higher skilled workers is a strong determinant of the wage premium. However, the paper also highlights an unusual feature of the East Asian model, showing how well-designed education policies, prudent macroeconomic management and selective policies towards foreign capital can help to buffer the pressure of structural change on wage inequality, even in an open economy context.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno Martorano & Marco Sanfilippo, 2015. "Structural Change and Wage Inequality in the Manufacturing Sector: Long Run Evidence from East Asia," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 212-231, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:43:y:2015:i:2:p:212-231
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2015.1028914
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    Cited by:

    1. Thanos Fragkandreas, 2022. "Three Decades of Research on Innovation and Inequality: Causal Scenarios, Explanatory Factors, and Suggestions," Working Papers 60, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised Feb 2022.
    2. R, Rekha & M, Suresh Babu, 2022. "Premature deindustrialisation and growth slowdowns in middle-income countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 377-389.
    3. Bruno Martorano & Donghyun Park & Marco Sanfilippo, 2017. "Catching-up, structural transformation, and inequality: industry-level evidence from Asia," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(4), pages 555-570.
    4. Haraguchi, Nobuya & Martorano, Bruno & Sanfilippo, Marco, 2019. "What factors drive successful industrialization? Evidence and implications for developing countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 266-276.
    5. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Aid for Trade flows and Wage Inequality in the manufacturing sector of recipient-countries," EconStor Preprints 213936, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    6. Xiao Dai & Liang Yan & Liu Jianping & JianWu, 2022. "A research on the threshold effect of human capital structure upgrading and industrial structure upgrading—based on the perspective of path dependence," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2645-2674, August.
    7. Ricardo Luiz Machado & Thiago Vizine da Cruz, 2022. "An Empirical Approach Analyzing the Socioeconomic Sustainability of the International Sugarcane Trade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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