This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Trade, Labor Market Rigidities, and Government-Financed Technological Change

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Koeniger, Winfried () (European University Institute, Florence and IZA, Bonn)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper contributes to the debate on the effects of trade versus technological change on wage differentials. We propose an explanation of the stylized facts which is based on interactions between openness and technological change because of labor market institutions and government intervention. In particular, technology change is induced by rigid wage elements for a developed economy which is trading with less developed countries. With a binding minimum wage and given commodity prices, openness induces the government to subsidize technological innovation in the developed country because production activities in the sector hit by foreign competition would have to close down otherwise. The economy with a binding minimum wage and institutionally induced innovations differs from the flexible economy in the following way: -The wage differential becomes more compressed the higher the minimum wage. Not only the wage of the unskilled is higher, but also the wage of the skilled is lower. -The productivity of unskilled workers is higher in the sector intensive in its use. -Skill intensity within the unskilled-labor intensive sector can rise although the wage of the skilled rises as well. This perspective may explain why empirical studies have difficulties to find substantial effects of openness on wage differentials although product markets have become increasingly integrated. Moreover, it can explain why the volume of trade between developed and less-developed countries is relatively small. Finally our model yields predictions for developed countries with different labor market institutions that are consistent with empirical evidence.

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.

File URL: ftp://repec.iza.org/RePEc/Discussionpaper/dp241.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 241.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 57 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2001
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp241

Contact details of provider:
Postal: IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 3894 223
Fax: +49 228 3894 180
Web page: http://www.iza.org

Order Information:
Postal: IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Mark Fallak).

Related research
Keywords: Trade; government; minimum wage; technology change;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
F1 - International Economics - - Trade
F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
O3 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
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.:
  1. Stefano Scarpetta & Andrea Bassanini & Dirk Pilat & Paul Schreyer, 2000. "Economic Growth in the OECD Area: Recent Trends at the Aggregate and Sectoral Level," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 248, OECD, Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
  2. David Spector, 1999. "Is it Possible to Redistribute the Gains from Trade Using Income Taxation?," Working papers 99-13, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
  3. David Neumark & William Wascher, 1992. "Employment effects of minimum and subminimum wages: Panel data on state minimum wage laws," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 46(1), pages 55-81, October.
  4. Thoenig, Mathias & Verdier, Thierry, 2000. "Trade Induced Technical Bias And Wage Inequalities: A Theory Of Defensive Innovations," CEPR Discussion Papers 2401, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Edward E. Leamer, 1999. "Effort, Wages, and the International Division of Labor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(6), pages 1127-1162, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Paul Krugman, 1995. "Growing World Trade: Causes and Consequences," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 26(1995-1), pages 327-377. [Downloadable!]
  7. Trefler, Daniel, 1993. "Trade Liberalization and the Theory of Endogenous Protection: An Econometric Study of U.S. Import Policy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(1), pages 138-60, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Juan J. Dolado & Florentino Felgueroso & Juan F. Jimeno, 2000. "The Role of the Minimum Wage in the Welfare State: An Appraisal," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 136(III), pages 223-245, September. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Hine, Robert C & Wright, Peter W, 1998. "Trade with Low Wage Economies, Employment and Productivity in UK Manufacturing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(450), pages 1500-1510, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Sapir, André, 2000. "Who is Afraid of Globalization? The Challenge of Domestic Adjustment in Europe and America," CEPR Discussion Papers 2595, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Davis, Donald R., 1998. "Technology, unemployment, and relative wages in a global economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1613-1633, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Acemoglu, D. & Zilibotti, F., 1998. "Productivity Differences," Papers 660, Stockholm - International Economic Studies.
    Other versions:
  13. Stephen Machin & John Van Reenen, 1998. "Technology And Changes In Skill Structure: Evidence From Seven Oecd Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1215-1244, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  14. Caballero, Ricardo J. & Hammour, Mohamad L., 1998. "Jobless growth: appropriability, factor substitution, and unemployment," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 51-94, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Johnson, George & Stafford, Frank, 1999. "The labor market implications of international trade," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 2215-2288 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Doms, Mark & Dunne, Timothy & Troske, Kenneth R, 1997. "Workers, Wages, and Technology," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(1), pages 253-90, February.
  17. Olivier Blanchard, 1998. "Revisiting European Unemployment: Unemployment, Capital Accumulation, and Factor Prices," NBER Working Papers 6566, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Rachel Griffith & Stephen Redding & John Van Reenen, 2000. "Mapping the two faces of R&D: productivity growth in a panel of OECD industries," IFS Working Papers W00/02, Institute for Fiscal Studies. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Johnson, George E, 1997. "Changes in Earnings Inequality: The Role of Demand Shifts," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 41-54, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Dixit, Avinash & Norman, Victor, 1986. "Gains from trade without lump-sum compensation," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1-2), pages 111-122, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Flaig, Gebhard & Stadler, Manfred, 1994. "Success Breeds Success. The Dynamics of the Innovation Process," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 55-68.
  22. Benedict J. Clements & Gerd Schwartz & Hugo Rodríguez, 1998. "Economic Determinants of Government Subsidies," IMF Working Papers 98/166, International Monetary Fund.
  23. Brecher, Richard A, 1974. "Minimum Wage Rates and the Pure Theory of International Trade," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 88(1), pages 98-116, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Neven, Damien J & Wyplosz, Charles, 1996. "Relative Prices, Trade and Restructuring in European Industry," CEPR Discussion Papers 1451, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  25. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Howard J. Shatz, 1994. "Trade and Jobs in Manufacturing," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 25(1994-1), pages 1-84. [Downloadable!]
  26. Edward E. Leamer, 1996. "What's the Use of Factor Contents?," NBER Working Papers 5448, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  27. Daron Acemoglu, 2000. "Labor- and Capital- Augmenting Technical Change," NBER Working Papers 7544, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  28. Ethier, Wilfred J., 1984. "Higher dimensional issues in trade theory," Handbook of International Economics, in: R. W. Jones & P. B. Kenen (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 3, pages 131-184 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

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.)

  1. Kim, Jaewon, 2006. "The Determinants of Labor Market Institutions: A Panel Data Study," Research Papers in Economics 2006:10, Stockholm University, Department of Economics, revised 06 Dec 2006. [Downloadable!]
  2. Koeniger, Winfried, 2002. "Defensive Innovations," IZA Discussion Papers 454, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? A few items listed on IDEAS are over 2000 years old!

This page was last updated on 2010-1-3.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.