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Machines and machinists: Capital-skill complementarity from an international trade perspective

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  • Márton Csillag
  • Miklós Koren

Abstract

We estimate the effect of imported machines on the wages of machine operators utilizing Hungarian linked employer-employee data. We infer exposure to imported machines from detailed trade statistics of the firm and the occupation description of the worker. We find that workers exposed to imported machines earn about 8 percent higher wages than other machine operators at the same firm. When we proxy for unobserved worker characteristics, we find a significant 3 percent wage premium, suggesting that the relationship is causal. The return to schooling is also higher on imported machines. We build a simple matching model consistent with these findings. Our findings suggest that machine imports can be an important channel through which skill-biased technical change reaches less developed and emerging economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Márton Csillag & Miklós Koren, 2011. "Machines and machinists: Capital-skill complementarity from an international trade perspective," CeFiG Working Papers 13, Center for Firms in the Global Economy, revised 25 Mar 2011.
    • Handle: RePEc:cfg:cfigwp:13
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    Cited by:

    1. Mauro Caselli, 2014. "Trade, skill-biased technical change and wages in Mexican manufacturing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 336-348, January.
    2. Bas, Maria & Paunov, Caroline, 2021. "Input quality and skills are complementary and increase output quality: Causal evidence from Ecuador’s trade liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    3. Nico Voigtlaender & Diego Saravia, 2013. "Imported Inputs, Quality Complementarity, and Skill Demand," 2013 Meeting Papers 699, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Mauro Caselli, 2018. "Do all imports matter for productivity? Intermediate inputs vs capital goods," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(2), pages 285-311, August.
    5. Francesco Di Comite & Antonella Nocco & Gianluca Orefi ce, 2015. "Tariff reductions, trade patterns and the wage gap," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2015004, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    6. Lo Turco, Alessia & Maggioni, Daniela, 2013. "Does Trade Foster Employment Growth in Emerging Markets? Evidence from Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-18.
    7. Giordano, Claire & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma, 2019. "Firm heterogeneity and trade in EU countries: a cross-country analysis," Occasional Paper Series 225, European Central Bank.
    8. Ariel Burstein & Javier Cravino & Jonathan Vogel, 2013. "Importing Skill-Biased Technology," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 32-71, April.
    9. Francesco Di Comite & Antonella Nocco & Gianluca Orefice, 2018. "Trade liberalization and the wage gap: the role of vertical linkages and fixed costs," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(1), pages 75-115, February.
    10. Federico Riccio & Lorenzo Cresti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2022. "The labour share along global value chains. Perspectives and evidence from sectoral interdependence," LEM Papers Series 2022/11, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    11. Chiacchio, Francesco & Gradeva, Katerina & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma, 2018. "The post-crisis TFP growth slowdown in CEE countries: exploring the role of Global Value Chains," Working Paper Series 2143, European Central Bank.
    12. Gunnella, Vanessa & Al-Haschimi, Alexander & Benkovskis, Konstantins & Chiacchio, Francesco & de Soyres, François & Di Lupidio, Benedetta & Fidora, Michael & Franco-Bedoya, Sebastian & Frohm, Erik & G, 2019. "The impact of global value chains on the euro area economy," Occasional Paper Series 221, European Central Bank.
    13. Békés, Gábor & Halpern, László & Muraközy, Balázs, 2013. "Külkereskedelem és a vállalatok közötti különbségek [Heterogeneous firms and foreign trade]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 1-24.
    14. Judit Karsai, 2012. "Development of the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Industry over the Past Two Decades," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1201, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    15. Kasahara, Hiroyuki & Liang, Yawen & Rodrigue, Joel, 2016. "Does importing intermediates increase the demand for skilled workers? Plant-level evidence from Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 242-261.
    16. Juhn, Chinhui & Ujhelyi, Gergely & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2014. "Men, women, and machines: How trade impacts gender inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 179-193.
    17. Connolly, Laura, 2022. "The effects of a trade shock on gender-specific labor market outcomes in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    18. Sang‐Wook (Stanley) Cho & Julián P. Díaz, 2016. "Accounting for Skill Premium Patterns: Evidence from the EU Accession," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(1), pages 271-299, July.
    19. Kézdi, Gábor & Mátyás, László & Balázsi, László & Divényi, János Károly, 2014. "A közgazdasági adatforradalom és a panelökonometria [The revolution in economic data and panel econometrics]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1319-1340.
    20. Juhn, Chinhui & Ujhelyi, Gergely & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2014. "Men, women, and machines: How trade impacts gender inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 179-193.
    21. Zsombor Z. Meder & Andras Simonovits & Janos Vincze, 2012. "Tax Morale and Tax Evasion: Social Preferences and Bounded Rationality," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1203, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    22. Francesco Di Comite & Antonella Nocco & Gianluca Orefice, 2014. "Tariff reductions, trade patterns and the wage gap in a monopolistic competition model with vertical linkages," Working Papers 2014-02, CEPII research center.
    23. Mahua Paul & Ramaa Arun Kumar, 2021. "Import intensity of India’s manufactured exports: an industry level analysis," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 67-90, June.
    24. Sang-Wook (Stanley) Cho & Juliàn P. Dìaz, 2014. "Accounting for Skill Premium Patterns during the EU Accession: Productivity or Trade?," Discussion Papers 2014-14, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.

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    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

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