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Trade Imbalances, Export Structure and Wage Inequality

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  • Rosario Crinò
  • Paolo Epifani

Abstract

We study, both theoretically and empirically, how trade imbalances affect the structure of countries' exports and wage inequality. We show that, in a Heckscher-Ohlin model with a continuum of goods, a Southern (Northern) trade surplus leads to an increase (reduction) in the average skill intensity of exports, in the relative demand for skills and in the skill premium in both countries. We provide robust support for the mechanism underlying these predictions using a large panel of countries observed over the past 30 years. Our results suggest that the large and growing North-South trade imbalances arisen over the last three decades may have exacerbated wage inequality worldwide.
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  • Rosario Crinò & Paolo Epifani, 2014. "Trade Imbalances, Export Structure and Wage Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(576), pages 507-539, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:econjl:v::y:2014:i:576:p:507-539
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecoj.2014.124.issue-576
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    6. Appleyard, Dennis R. & Conway, Patrick J. & Field, Alfred Jr., 1989. "The effects of customs unions on the pattern and terms of trade in a Ricardian model with a continuum of goods," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1-2), pages 147-164, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Trionfetti, Federico, 2018. "Firm heterogeneity, comparative advantage and the transfer problem," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 246-258.
    2. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2016. "The China Shock: Learning from Labor-Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 205-240, October.
    3. Gábor Békés & Balázs Muraközy, 2018. "The ladder of internationalization modes: evidence from European firms," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(3), pages 455-491, August.
    4. Epifani, Paolo & Gancia, Gino, 2017. "Global imbalances revisited: The transfer problem and transport costs in monopolistic competition," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 99-116.
    5. Trevor Tombe & Jennifer Winter, 2021. "Fiscal integration with internal trade: Quantifying the effects of federal transfers in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 522-556, May.
    6. Shen, Jim Huangnan & Long, Zhiming & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Zhang, Jun, 2022. "Comparative advantage, endowment structure, and trade imbalances," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 365-375.
    7. Luca Salvatici & Silvia Nenci, 2017. "New features, forgotten costs and counterfactual gains of the international trading system," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 44(4), pages 592-633.
    8. Zhang, Junsen & Zhou, Kang, 2023. "Quota removal, destination-specific export shocks, and skill acquisition in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade

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