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Competition, trade and wages

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  • J. Peter Neary

Abstract

I briefly review the empirical evidence in the trade and wages debate, which overwhelmingly rejects the Heckscher-Ohlin explanation for recent increases in OECD skill premia. I then argue that the same evidence is also difficult to reconcile in general equilibrium with the view that exogenous skill-biased technological progress is the sole culprit. Finally, I present a model of oligopolistic competition which is more consistent with the evidence. Removing quantitative import constraints (a metaphor for increased foreign competition) encourages both home and foreign firms to invest more aggressively, raising their demand for skilled labour even at unchanged relative wages.

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  • J. Peter Neary, 2001. "Competition, trade and wages," Working Papers 200020, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:200020
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/1277
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    Cited by:

    1. Lionel Fontagné & Daniel Mirza, 2001. "International Trade and Rent Sharing in Developed and Developing countries," Working Papers 2001-09, CEPII research center.
    2. Udo Kreickemeier & Douglas Nelson, 2017. "Fair Wages, Unemployment, and Technological Change in a Global Economy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: International Trade and Labor Markets Welfare, Inequality and Unemployment, chapter 8, pages 205-235, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. J. Peter Neary, 2000. "Monopolistic Competition and International Trade Theory," Working Papers 200025, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    4. J.Peter Neary, 2002. "Foreign Competition and Wage Inequality," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 680-693, November.
    5. Naércio Aquino Menezes Filho & Marc-Andreas Muendler, 2007. "Labor Reallocation in Response to Trade Reform," CESifo Working Paper Series 1936, CESifo.
    6. A. B. Atkinson, 2003. "Income Inequality in OECD Countries: Data and Explanations," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 49(4), pages 479-513.
    7. Foster-McGregor, Neil & Nomaler, Önder & Verspagen, Bart, 2021. "Job Automation Risk, Economic Structure and Trade: a European Perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    8. Weiss, Pia & Wälde, Klaus, 2001. "Globalisation is good for you: Distributional effects of mergers caused by globalisation," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 07/01, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    9. Ekholm, Karolina & Midelfart, Karen Helene, 2005. "Relative wages and trade-induced changes in technology," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 1637-1663, August.
    10. Denny, Kevin & Harmon, Colm & Lydon, Reamonn, 2002. "Cross Country Evidence on the Returns to Education: Patterns and Explanations," CEPR Discussion Papers 3199, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Ugo Fratesi, 2008. "Regional policy from a supra-regional perspective," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 42(3), pages 681-703, September.
    12. Donald Robbins, 2003. "The impact of trade liberalization upon inequality in developing countries - A review of theory and evidence-," Documentos de Economía 3601, Universidad Javeriana - Bogotá.
    13. Sener, Fuat, 2006. "Labor market rigidities and R&D-based growth in the global economy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 769-805, May.
    14. Wilfred J. Ethier, 2002. "Globalization, Globalisation," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 02-088/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    15. Hoekman & Bernard & Winters, L. Alan, 2005. "Trade and employment : stylized facts and research findings," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3676, The World Bank.
    16. Ethier, Wilfred J., 2005. "Globalization, globalisation: Trade, technology, and wages," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 237-258.
    17. Satya P. Das, 2003. "Trade and Relative Wage in a Global Economy," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 397-411, May.
    18. Dumont, Michel, 2004. "The Impact of International Trade with Newly Industrialised Countries on the Wages and Employment of Low-Skilled and High-Skilled Workers in the European Union," Thesis Commons bmxag, Center for Open Science.
    19. Nathalie Chusseau & Michel Dumont & Joël Hellier, 2008. "Explaining Rising Inequality: Skill‐Biased Technical Change And North–South Trade," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 409-457, July.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    OECD wage inequality; Oligopolistic competition; Skill-biased technological progress; Skill premia; Trade and wages; Wage differentials--OECD countries; Competition; Imperfect; Labor--OECD countries; International trade;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation

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