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Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, and Trade Liberalization

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Author Info
Donald R. Davis
James Harrigan

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Abstract

How do labor markets adjust to trade liberalization? Leading models of intraindustry trade (Krugman (1981), Melitz (2003)) assume homogeneous workers and full employment, and thus predict that all workers win from trade liberalization, a conclusion that is at odds with the public debate. Our paper develops a new model that merges Melitz (2003) with Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984), so also links product market churning to labor market churning. Workers care about their jobs because the model features aggregate unemployment and jobs that pay different wages to identical workers. Simulations show that for reasonable parameter values as many as one-fourth of "good jobs" (those with above average wage) may be destroyed in a liberalization. This is true even as the model shows minimal impact on aggregate unemployment and quite substantial aggregate gains from trade.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 13139.

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Date of creation: May 2007
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13139

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F1 - International Economics - - Trade
F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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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. Acemoglu, Daron, 2001. "Good Jobs versus Bad Jobs," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 1-21, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Todd L. Idson & Walter Y. Oi, 1999. "Workers Are More Productive in Large Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 104-108, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Erica L. Groshen & Alan B. Krueger, 1990. "The structure of supervision and pay in hospitals," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 43(3), pages 134-146, February.
    Other versions:
  4. Krueger, Alan B & Summers, Lawrence H, 1988. "Efficiency Wages and the Inter-industry Wage Structure," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 259-93, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Daniel S. Nagin & James B. Rebitzer & Seth Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2002. "Monitoring, Motivation, and Management: The Determinants of Opportunistic Behavior in a Field Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 850-873, September. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Hoon, Hian Teck, 2001. "Adjustment of wages and equilibrium unemployment in a Ricardian global economy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 193-209, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. repec:rus:hseeco:122439 is not listed on IDEAS
  9. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-44, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Hartmut Egger & Udo Kreickemeier, 2007. "Firm Heterogeneity and the Labour Market Effects of Trade Liberalisation," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Rebitzer, James B., 1995. "Is there a trade-off between supervision and wages? An empirical test of efficiency wage theory," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 107-129, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Matusz, Steven J, 1996. "International Trade, the Division of Labor, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(1), pages 71-84, February.
  13. Copeland, Brian R., 1989. "Efficiency wages in a Ricardian model of international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3-4), pages 221-244, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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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. Paulo Bastos & Natália P. Monteiro & Odd Rune Straume, 2008. "Firm heterogeneity and wages in unionised labour markets: Theory and evidence," NIPE Working Papers 14/2008, NIPE - Universidade do Minho. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Hartmut Egger & Peter Egger & James R. Markusen, 2009. "International Welfare and Employment Linkages Arising from Minimum Wages," NBER Working Papers 15196, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Tebaldi, Edinaldo & Kim, Jongsung, 2008. "Two Tales on the Returns to Education: The Impact of Trade on Wages," MPRA Paper 9698, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. Alexander Vogel, 2009. "Exporter Performance in the German Business Services Sector: First Evidence from the Services Statistics Panel," Working Paper Series in Economics 111, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Arnaud Costinot & Jonathan Vogel, 2009. "Matching and Inequality in the World Economy," NBER Working Papers 14672, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Prat, Julien & Schmerer, Hans-Jörg, 2008. "Globalization and Labor Market Outcomes: Wage Bargaining, Search Frictions, and Firm Heterogeneity," IZA Discussion Papers 3363, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  7. Elhanan Helpman & Oleg Itskhoki & Stephen Redding, 2009. "Inequality and Unemployment in a Global Economy," CEP Discussion Papers dp0940, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Amiti, Mary & Davis, Donald R, 2008. "Trade, Firms, and Wages: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 6872, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Bruno Decreuse & Paul Maarek, 2008. "FDI and the labor share in developing countries: A theory andsome evidence," Working Papers halshs-00333704_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Elhanan Helpman & Oleg Itskhoki & Stephen Redding, 2008. "Wages, Unemployment and Inequality with Heterogeneous Firms and Workers," NBER Working Papers 14122, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Schank, Thorsten & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2008. "Higher Wages in Exporting Firms: Self-Selection, Export Effect, or Both? First Evidence from German Linked Employer-Employee Data," IZA Discussion Papers 3359, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Pravin Krishna & Mine Zeynep Senses, 2009. "International Trade and Labor Income Risk in the United States," NBER Working Papers 14992, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Arnaud Costinot, 2008. "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: A "New" Perspective on Protectionism," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series 2006-05R, Department of Economics, UC San Diego. [Downloadable!]
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