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Have Falling Tariffs and Transportation Costs Raised U.S. Wage Inequality?

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Author Info
Jonathan E. Haskel
Matthew J. Slaughter

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Abstract

A number of studies have tried to gauge the effect of international trade on the rising U.S. skill premium by examining whether product prices in unskill-intensive sectors have fallen relative to prices in skill-intensive sectors. However, these studies do not estimate what share of domestic product-price changes is due to trade barriers. This paper attempts to address this issue by analyzing not the sector bias of price changes but rather the sector bias of price changes induced by changes in U.S. tariffs and transportation costs. We find that in both the 1970s and 1980s, level cuts in tariffs and transportation costs levels were concentrated in the unskill-intensive sectors. If pass-through of trade barriers to product prices is uniform across all sectors, then this suggests falls in tariffs and transportation costs were mandating a rise in the U.S. skill premium. But despite this suggestive evidence, we estimate that the price changes induced by tariffs or transportation costs mandated a rise in the skill premium that was mostly statistically insignificant. Thus, we do not find strong evidence that falling tariffs and transport costs, working through price changes, mandated rises in inequality.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7539.

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Date of creation: Feb 2000
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7539

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

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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.:
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    Other versions:
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  7. Gordon H. Hanson & Ann Harrison, 1999. "Trade liberalization and wage inequality in Mexico," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 52(2), pages 271-288, January.
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  9. Steven J. Davis & John C. Haltiwanger & Scott Schuh, 1998. "Job Creation and Destruction," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262540932, December.
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(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. Gustavo Gonzaga & Naércio Menezes Filho & Maria Cristina Terra, 2005. "Trade liberalization and the evolution of skill earnings differentials in Brazil," Textos para discussão 503, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Ludo Cuyvers & Michel Dumont & Glenn Rayp & Katrien Stevens, 2005. "Home Employment Effects of EU Firms’ Activities in Central and Eastern European Countries," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 153-174, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Stephen Tokarick, 2002. "Quantifying the Impact of Trade on Wages: The Role of Nontraded Goods," IMF Working Papers 02/191, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  4. John W. Budd & Josef Konings & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2002. "International Rent Sharing in Multinational Firms," NBER Working Papers 8809, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Daniel Fernandez Kranz, 2006. "Why has wage inequality increased more in the USA than in Europe? An empirical investigation of the demand and supply of skill," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 38(7), pages 771-788, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. John W. Budd & Jozef Konings & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2002. "Wages and International Rent Sharing in Multinational Firms," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 522, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Gustavo Gonzaga & Naércio Menezes Filho & Cristina Terra, 2002. "Trade liberalization and evolution of skill earnings differentials in Brazil," Textos para discussão 463, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil). [Downloadable!]
  8. Ellen Brock & Sabien Dobbelaere, 2006. "Has International Trade Affected Workers’ Bargaining Power?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 233-266, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Konings, Jozef, 2004. "The employment effects of foreign direct investment," EIB Papers 4/2004, European Investment Bank, Economic and Financial Studies. [Downloadable!]
  10. Ludo Cuyvers & Michel Dumont & Glenn Rayp & Katrien Stevens, 2003. "Wage and employment effects in the EU of international trade with the emerging economies," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 248-275, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. L. Cuyvers & M. Dumont & G. Rayp & K. Stevens, 2002. "Home Employment Effects of EU Firms' Activities in Central and Eastern European Countries," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 02/158, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. [Downloadable!]
  12. Roberto Álvarez & Luis Opazo, 2008. "Chinese Penetration and Importer Country Wages: Microevidence From Chile," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 473, Central Bank of Chile. [Downloadable!]
  13. Jorge Saba Arbache, 2001. "Trade Liberalisation and Labor Markets in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence," Studies in Economics 0112, Department of Economics, University of Kent. [Downloadable!]
  14. John W. Budd & Matthew J.Slaughter, 2000. "Are Profits Shared Across Borders? Evidence on International Rent Sharing," NBER Working Papers 8014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Kanda Naknoi & Allan D. Brunner, 2003. "Trade Costs, Market Integration, and Macroeconomic Volatility," IMF Working Papers 03/54, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
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