Theory predicts that when economies become more integrated through the removal of tariff and other barriers to trade, resulting in an increase in competition in product markets, there should be effects on wage and employment outcomes in labour markets, particularly those in which unions are active. We investigate this idea empirically using a cross-section of UK manufacturing establishments from the 1990 WIRS data set. A reduction in non-tariff barriers from high to medium leads to lower wages, particularly for unskilled workers. Further reductions in non-tariff barriers produce a less well-determined effect. Intra-industry trade flows relative to sales, which are also used as a proxy for international integration, do not appear to affect wages so markedly.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number
1818.
Find related papers by JEL classification: F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)