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Changing Elasticities of Labor Demand in U.S. Manufacturing

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  • Daniel Rich

Abstract

This paper provides a link between long-standing labor demand elasticity estimates in U.S. manufacturing and recent studies of wage patterns and labor demand shifts in response to technical change and international trade. We document asymmetric changes in labor demand elasticities including an absolute and relative increase in own-wage elasticity of demand for production workers. Separate estimates of substitution and scale responses imply that skill-biased technical change dominates increased product market competition as a source of the observed changes in labor demand elasticity. Copyright International Atlantic Economic Society 2010

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  • Daniel Rich, 2010. "Changing Elasticities of Labor Demand in U.S. Manufacturing," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 38(2), pages 157-168, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:38:y:2010:i:2:p:157-168
    DOI: 10.1007/s11293-010-9223-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor demand; Technical change; Trade; J23; D24; F16; J51;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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