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Shifts In Relative U.S. Wages: The Role Of Trade, Technology, And Factor Endowments

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  • Robert E. Baldwin
  • Glen G. Cain
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    Abstract

    A basic relationship of the standard general equilibrium trade model relating product-price changes to factor-price changes is used - together with other economic relationships based on this model - to investigate empirically the importance of changes in trade, technology, and factor endowments in accounting for the shifts in relative wages of less-educated workers compared to more-educated workers from 1967 to 1996. In the early part of the period when wage inequality decreased, the dominant explanatory factor seems to have been a relative increase in the supply of highly educated labor. However, since the late 1970s, none of the three economic forces considered can alone account for the observed changes in relative wages, prices, outputs, net exports, and factor-use ratios. In particular, both education-biased technical progress that was greater in industries that intensively used more-educated labor and increased import competition in industries that intensively used less-educated labor seem to have played important roles in bringing about the increase in wage inequality during the 1980s and 1990s. © 2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by MIT Press in its journal The Review of Economics and Statistics.

    Volume (Year): 82 (2000)
    Issue (Month): 4 (November)
    Pages: 580-595

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    Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:82:y:2000:i:4:p:580-595

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    Web page: http://mitpress.mit.edu/journals/

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    Web: http://mitpress.mit.edu/journal-home.tcl?issn=00346535

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    Cited by:
    1. Engelmann, Sabine, 2012. "International trade, technical change and wage inequality in the U.K. economy," IAB Discussion Paper 201208, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    2. Dutt, Pushan & Traca, Daniel A., 2005. "Trade and the Skill-Bias - It's Not How Much, But With Whom You Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 5263, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Bourguignon, Francois, 2005. "The Effect of Economic Growth on Social Structures," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 1701-1747 Elsevier.
    4. Yasuhiro Sato & Kazuhiro Yamamoto, 2007. "Trade impacts on skill formation: welfare improvements accompanied by rises in inequality," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 07-12, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP).
    5. Giordano Mion & Linke Zhu, 2010. "Import Competition from and Outsourcing to China: A Curse or Blessing for Firms?," CEP Discussion Papers dp1038, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Zhu, Susan Chun & Trefler, Daniel, 2005. "Trade and inequality in developing countries: a general equilibrium analysis," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 21-48, January.
    7. Thierfelder, Karen & Robinson, Sherman, 2002. "Trade and tradability," TMD discussion papers 93, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Matthias Weiss & Alfred Garloff, 2009. "Skill-biased technological change and endogenous benefits: the dynamics of unemployment and wage inequality," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 43(7), pages 811-821.
    9. Anabela Carneiro & José Varejão, 2012. "Establishment Turnover and the Evolution of Wage Inequality," CEF.UP Working Papers 1202, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    10. Robertson, Raymond, 2004. "Relative prices and wage inequality: evidence from Mexico," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 387-409, December.
    11. Thomas Kemeny & David Rigby, 2012. "Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Esquivel, Gerardo & Rodriguez-Lopez, Jose Antonio, 2003. "Technology, trade, and wage inequality in Mexico before and after NAFTA," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 543-565, December.
    13. Joseph Francois & Kevin Grier & Douglas Nelson, 2004. "Globalization, Roundaboutness, and Relative Wages," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-021/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    14. Thierry Verdier, 2005. "Intégration commerciale « socialement responsable » : une approche en termes d'économie politique," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 19(4), pages 55-121.
    15. Susan Chun Zhu & Daniel Trefler, 2001. "Ginis in General Equilibrium: Trade, Technology and Southern Inequality," NBER Working Papers 8446, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Ho, Lok Sang & Wei, Xiangdong & Wong, Wai Chung, 2005. "The effect of outward processing trade on wage inequality: the Hong Kong case," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 241-257, September.
    17. Hijzen, Alexander & Görg, Holger & Hine, Robert C., 2003. "International Fragmentation and Relative Wages in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 717, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    18. Fang, Chen-ray & Huang, Li-hsuan & Wang, Ming-cheng, 2008. "Technology spillover and wage inequality," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 137-147, January.

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