IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/reviec/v29y2021i2p402-408.html

Unemployment effects of trade with a low‐wage country: A minimum‐wage model with sector‐specific factors

Author

Listed:
  • Richard A. Brecher
  • Zhihao Yu

Abstract

Contrary to conventional wisdom, this paper shows that a high‐wage economy can paradoxically reduce its level of aggregate unemployment by engaging in international trade with a low‐wage country. We demonstrate this possibility after introducing a minimum wage into the basic specific‐factor model (with immobile capital and mobile labor), even though the opposite result is known to arise in the longer‐run framework of the standard Heckscher–Ohlin–Samuelson model (with both inputs mobile). Our result provides a cautionary note for public‐policy discussions that promote trade barriers as a way to reduce unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard A. Brecher & Zhihao Yu, 2021. "Unemployment effects of trade with a low‐wage country: A minimum‐wage model with sector‐specific factors," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 402-408, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reviec:v:29:y:2021:i:2:p:402-408
    DOI: 10.1111/roie.12530
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/roie.12530
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/roie.12530?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Davis, Donald R, 1998. "Does European Unemployment Prop Up American Wages? National Labor Markets and Global Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 478-494, June.
    2. Richard A. Brecher, 1974. "Minimum Wage Rates and the Pure Theory of International Trade," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 88(1), pages 98-116.
    3. Lloyd A. Metzler, 1949. "Tariffs, International Demand, and Domestic Prices," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(4), pages 345-345.
    4. Daron Acemoglu & David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson & Brendan Price, 2016. "Import Competition and the Great US Employment Sag of the 2000s," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S1), pages 141-198.
    5. Lloyd A. Metzler, 1949. "Tariffs, the Terms of Trade, and the Distribution of National Income," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(1), pages 1-1.
    6. Ruffin, Roy & Jones, Ronald, 1977. "Protection and real wages: The neoclassical ambiguity," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 337-348, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items 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. repec:dgr:rugsom:00c21 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Kala Krishna & Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay & Cemile Yavas, 2005. "Trade with Labor Market Distortions and Heterogeneous Labor: Why Trade Can Hurt," Contributions to Economics, in: Günter S. Heiduk & Kar-yiu Wong (ed.), WTO and World Trade, pages 65-83, Springer.
    3. Hans‐Werner Sinn, 2006. "Das deutsche Rätsel: Warum wir Exportweltmeister und Schlusslicht zugleich sind," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Bai, Xue & Chatterjee, Arpita & Krishna, Kala & Ma, Hong, 2021. "Trade and minimum wages in general equilibrium: Theory and evidence," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    5. Lars Calmfors & Giancarlo Corsetti & Michael P. Devereux & Gilles Saint-Paul & Hans-Werner Sinn & Jan-Egbert Sturm & Xavier Vives, 2008. "Chapter 3: The effect of globalisation on Western European jobs: curse or blessing?," EEAG Report on the European Economy, CESifo, vol. 0, pages 71-104, February.
    6. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "The choice of domestic policies in a globalized economy: Extended Version," MPRA Paper 37816, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Richard A. Brecher & Zhihao Yu, 2021. "Trade-Induced Reduction In Unemployment Of A High-Wage Economy: A Minimum-Wage Model With Country-Specific Technology," Carleton Economic Papers 21-04, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    8. Hartmut Egger & Daniel Etzel, 2012. "Union Wage Setting and International Trade," IAAEU Discussion Papers 201209, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    9. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "The choice of domestic policies in a globalized economy," Papers 306, World Trade Institute.
    10. Alejandro Cuñat & Marc J. Melitz, 2012. "Volatility, Labor Market Flexibility, And The Pattern Of Comparative Advantage," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 225-254, April.
    11. repec:ces:ifodic:v:3:y:2005:i:1:p:14567538 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Braun Sebastian, 2010. "Foreign Competition, Multinational Firms, and One-Sided Wage Rigidity," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 1-30, May.
    13. Hartmut Egger & Frode Meland & Hans-Jörg Schmerer, 2015. "Differences in the degree of unionization as a source of comparative advantage in open economies," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(1), pages 245-272, February.
    14. Rod Tyers & William Coleman, 2008. "Beyond Brigden: Australia's Inter‐War Manufacturing Tariffs, Real Wages and Economic Size," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 84(264), pages 50-67, March.
    15. Davis, Donald R., 1998. "Technology, unemployment, and relative wages in a global economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1613-1633, November.
    16. 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.
    17. Céline CARRERE & Marco FUGAZZA & Marcelo OLARREAGA & Frédéric ROBERT-NICOUD, 2014. "Trade in Unemployment," Working Papers P101, FERDI.
    18. Hideo Sato, 2021. "A two‐country, three‐commodity Ricardian trade model with Keynesian unemployment," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 286-308, May.
    19. Nunn, Nathan & Trefler, Daniel, 2014. "Domestic Institutions as a Source of Comparative Advantage," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 263-315, Elsevier.
    20. Kala Krishna & Cemile Yavas, 2002. "When Does Trade Hurt? Market, Transition and Developing Economies," NBER Working Papers 8995, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric & Olarreaga, Marcelo & Carrère, Céline & Fugazza, Marco, 2016. "On the heterogeneous effect of trade on unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 11540, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    22. Schmerer, Hans-Jörg, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment, Search Unemployment, and the Role of Labor Market Institutions," VfS Annual Conference 2011 (Frankfurt, Main): The Order of the World Economy - Lessons from the Crisis 48730, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

    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:bla:reviec:v:29:y:2021:i:2:p:402-408. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0965-7576 .

    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.