IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/7674.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Demand Side Considerations and the Trade and Wages Debate

Author

Listed:
  • Lisandro Abrego
  • John Whalley

Abstract

Recent trade and wages literature focuses on whether trade or technology has been the major source of increases in wage inequality in OECD countries since the 1980s. In this literature, no attention has been paid to demand side considerations. Using a simple heterogeneous goods trade model of the Armington type, and UK data, we show how trade shocks affecting the price of unskilled-intensive goods can be absorbed on the demand side, with little or no impact on relative wage rates. No wage impact occurs if the elasticity of substitution in preferences between imports and import substitutes is one. As this elasticity increases, trade plays an ever larger role in explaining wage inequality changes, and as the elasticity goes below one the sign of the effect changes. We suggest that since many import demand elasticity estimates are in the neighbourhood of one, there is a prima facie case that demand side considerations further lower the significance of trade as an explanation of recent trends in OECD wage inequality -beyond that reported in recent literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisandro Abrego & John Whalley, 2000. "Demand Side Considerations and the Trade and Wages Debate," NBER Working Papers 7674, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7674
    Note: ITI
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w7674.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feenstra, Robert C & Hanson, Gordon H, 1996. "Globalization, Outsourcing, and Wage Inequality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 240-245, May.
    2. Steven J. Davis, 1992. "Cross-Country Patterns of Change in Relative Wages," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1992, Volume 7, pages 239-300, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. George J. Borjas & Richard B. Freeman & Lawrence F. Katz, 1992. "On the Labor Market Effects of Immigration and Trade," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 213-244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Haskel, Jonathan & Slaughter, Matthew J, 2001. "Trade, Technology and U.K. Wage Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(468), pages 163-187, January.
    5. R. E. Baldwin & G. G. Cain, "undated". "Shifts in U.S. Relative Wages: The Role of Trade, Technology, and Factor Endowments," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1132-97, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    6. Peter Gottschalk & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1997. "Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 633-687, June.
    7. Lisandro Abrego & John Whalley, 1999. "The Choice of Structural Model in Trade-Wages Decompositions," NBER Working Papers 7312, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Clinton R. Shiells & Kenneth A. Reinert, 1993. "Armington Models and Terms-of-Trade Effects: Some Econometric Evidence for North America," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 26(2), pages 299-316, May.
    9. Marquez, Jaime, 1994. "The Econometrics of Elasticities or the Elasticity of Econometrics: An Empirical Analysis of the Behavior of U.S. Imports," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(3), pages 471-481, August.
    10. Abrego, Lisandro & Whalley, John, 2000. "The Choice of Structural Model in Trade-Wages Decompositions," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), pages 462-477, August.
    11. Anderton, Bob & Brenton, Paul, 1998. "The dollar, trade, technology and inequality in the USA," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 166, pages 78-86, October.
    12. Wood, Adrian, 1997. "Openness and Wage Inequality in Developing Countries: The Latin American Challenge to East Asian Conventional Wisdom," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 11(1), pages 33-57, January.
    13. repec:sae:niesru:v:166:y::i:1:p:78-86 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Krugman, Paul R., 2000. "Technology, trade and factor prices," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 51-71, February.
    15. Reinert, Kenneth A. & Roland-Holst, David W., 1992. "Armington elasticities for United States manufacturing sectors," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 631-639, October.
    16. Abowd, John M. & Freeman, Richard B. (ed.), 1991. "Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226000954, December.
    17. Bhattarai, Keshab & Ghosh, Madanmohan & Whalley, John, 1999. "On some properties of a trade closure widely used in numerical modelling," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 13-21, January.
    18. Mathias Dewatripont & André Sapir & Khalid Sekkat, 1999. "Labour Market Effects of Trade with LDCs in Europe," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/7378, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    19. Robert Z. Lawrence & Matthew J. Slaughter, 1993. "International Trade and American Wages in the 1980s: Giant Sucking Sound or Small Hiccup?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 24(2 Microec), pages 161-226.
    20. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1998. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(4), pages 1169-1213.
    21. repec:aei:rpbook:52903 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. John M. Abowd & Richard B. Freeman, 1991. "Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abow91-1, July.
    23. Damien NEVEN. & Charles WYPLOSZ, 1996. "Relative Prices, Trade and Restructuring in European Industry," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 9615, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rotunno, Lorenzo & Wood, Adrian, 2020. "Wage inequality and skill supplies in a globalised world," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 529-547.
    2. Lawrence Edwards & Robert Z. Lawrence, 2010. "US Trade and Wages: The Misleading Implications of Conventional Trade Theory," NBER Working Papers 16106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Lorenzo Rotunno & Adrian Wood, 2015. "Wages and endowments in a globalised world," Economics Papers 2015-W11, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    4. repec:ilo:ilowps:365055 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lisandro Abrego & John Whalley, 1999. "The Choice of Structural Model in Trade-Wages Decompositions," CSGR Working papers series 34/99, Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR), University of Warwick.
    2. Lisandro Abrego & John Whalley, 2003. "Goods market responses to trade shocks and trade and wages decompositions," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(3), pages 747-757, August.
    3. Jorge Saba Arbache, 2001. "Trade Liberalisation and Labor Markets in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence," Studies in Economics 0112, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    4. Lisandro Abrego & John Whalley, 2002. "Decomposing Wage Inequality Change Using General Equilibrium Models," University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute Working Papers 20022, University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute.
    5. Yiping Zhu, 2008. "Globalisation, Employment, and Wage Rate: What Does Literature Tell Us?," IMK Working Paper 07-2008, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    6. Tschopp, Jeanne, 2015. "The Wage Response to Shocks: The Role of Inter-Occupational Labour Adjustment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 28-37.
    7. Peter Huber & Helmut Hofer, 2001. "Teilprojekt 9: Auswirkungen der EU-Erweiterung auf den österreichischen Arbeitsmarkt," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 19839, April.
    8. Jeff Borland, 2000. "Economic Explanations of Earnings Distribution Trends in the International Literature and Application to New Zealand," Treasury Working Paper Series 00/16, New Zealand Treasury.
    9. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2215-2288 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Monte, Ferdinando, 2011. "Skill bias, trade, and wage dispersion," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 202-218, March.
    11. Hijzen, Alexander & Görg, Holger & Hine, Robert C., 2003. "International Fragmentation and Relative Wages in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 717, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Thierfelder, Karen & Robinson, Sherman, 2002. "Trade and the skilled-unskilled wage gap in a model with differentiated goods," TMD discussion papers 96, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Olivier Cortès & Sébastien Jean, 1997. "Quel est l'impact du commerce extérieur sur la productivité et l'emploi ?," Working Papers 1997-08, CEPII research center.
    14. Esquivel, Gerardo & Rodriguez-Lopez, Jose Antonio, 2003. "Technology, trade, and wage inequality in Mexico before and after NAFTA," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 543-565, December.
    15. Olivier Cortes & Sébastien Jean, 1997. "Les échanges internationaux modifient la demande de travail," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 301(1), pages 45-50.
    16. John T. Addison & Douglas A. Fox & Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Technology, Trade Sensitivity, and Labor Displacement," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 66(3), pages 682-699, January.
    17. Johannes Fedderke & Yongcheol Shin & Prabhat Vaze, 2003. "Trade, Technology and Wage Inequality in the South African Manufacturing Sectors," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 106, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    18. Joseph Francois & Douglas R. Nelson, 2000. "Victims of Progress: Economic Integration, Specialization, and Wages for Unskilled Labor," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 00-065/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    19. Robert Feenstra & Gordon Hanson, 2001. "Global Production Sharing and Rising Inequality: A Survey of Trade and Wages," NBER Working Papers 8372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Jonathan E. Haskel & Matthew J. Slaughter, 1998. "Does the Sector Bias of Skill-Biased Technical Change Explain Changing Wage Inequality?," NBER Working Papers 6565, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Paolo Epifani & Gino Gancia, 2008. "The Skill Bias of World Trade," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(530), pages 927-960, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • D58 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7674. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.