IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v45y2024i2p989-1005.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do trade and technology foster employment growth? Evidence from Indian industries

Author

Listed:
  • Chandan Sharma
  • Rupika Khanna

Abstract

Several developing economies have been generating fast growth, but formal employment generation remains a concern, causing a significant workforce to continue working in the informal sector. In this context, this study investigates the employment effects of international trade and in‐house R&D in the Indian case. Our attempt is important because India is not only the largest country in terms of population but also the largest working population in the world. We coalesce industry‐level data from two different sources for the period 1991–2018 and employ a powerful system GMM estimator in the analysis. Our findings are interesting and vital. We show that although the role of trade is overall positive, export and import have contrasting roles individually in generating employment. Most generally, exporting is a generator of employment, while importing causes a loss in it. Our analysis implies that the interplay of trade, and individually that of exports and imports, with in‐house R&D depends on many factors and may be more intricate than previously assumed.

Suggested Citation

  • Chandan Sharma & Rupika Khanna, 2024. "Do trade and technology foster employment growth? Evidence from Indian industries," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(2), pages 989-1005, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:45:y:2024:i:2:p:989-1005
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.4048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4048
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.4048?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marco Vivarelli, 2014. "Innovation, Employment and Skills in Advanced and Developing Countries: A Survey of Economic Literature," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 123-154.
    2. Mario Pianta, 2018. "Technology and Employment: Twelve Stylised Facts for the Digital Age," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 189-225, June.
    3. Alonso-Borrego, Cesar & Arellano, Manuel, 1999. "Symmetrically Normalized Instrumental-Variable Estimation Using Panel Data," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 17(1), pages 36-49, January.
    4. Jose Miguel Benavente & Rodolfo Lauterbach, 2008. "Technological innovation and employment: complements or substitutes?," The European Journal of Development Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 318-329.
    5. Pankaj Vashisht, 2018. "Destruction or Polarization: Estimating the Impact of Technology on Jobs in Indian Manufacturing," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 227-250, June.
    6. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Is Innovation Destroying Jobs? Firm-Level Evidence from the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Oscarsson, Eva, 2000. "Trade, Employment and Wages in Sweden 1975-93," Research Papers in Economics 2000:8, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    8. Adrian Wood, 1997. "How Trade Hurt Unskilled Workers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Jitendralal Borkakoti & Chris Milner (ed.), International Trade and Labour Markets, chapter 7, pages 140-168, Palgrave Macmillan.
    9. Anshul Aggarwal & Chandan Sharma, 2023. "Internationalisation, employment generation and wage premia: evidence from Indian manufacturing firms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(7), pages 3944-3961, October.
    10. Chandan Sharma, 2014. "Imported Intermediate Inputs, R&D, and Productivity at Firm Level: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Industries," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 246-263, March.
    11. Rhys Jenkins, 2008. "Trade, Technology and Employment in South Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 60-79.
    12. Li, Chunding & Whalley, John, 2021. "Trade protectionism and US manufacturing employment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 353-361.
    13. Ana L. Revenga & Samuel Bentolila, 1995. "What Affects the Employment Rate Intensity of Growth?," Working Papers 9517, Banco de España.
    14. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2005. "Innovation and Employment: Evidence from Italian Microdata," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 86(1), pages 65-83, October.
    15. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1990. "Trade, Innovation, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 86-91, May.
    16. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    17. Chandan Sharma & Ritesh Kumar Mishra, 2023. "Imports, technology, and employment: Job creation or creative destruction," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(1), pages 152-170, January.
    18. Lo Turco, Alessia & Maggioni, Daniela, 2013. "Does Trade Foster Employment Growth in Emerging Markets? Evidence from Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-18.
    19. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    20. Castro Silva, Hugo & Lima, Francisco, 2017. "Technology, employment and skills: A look into job duration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1519-1530.
    21. Vivarelli, Marco, 2012. "Innovation, Employment and Skills in Advanced and Developing Countries: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 6291, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Buddhadeb Ghosh & Prabir De, 2000. "Impact of Performance Indicators and Labour Endowment on Traffic: Empirical Evidence from Indian Ports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 2(4), pages 259-281, December.
    23. Greenaway, David & Sousa, Nuno & Wakelin, Katharine, 2004. "Do domestic firms learn to export from multinationals?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 1027-1043, November.
    24. Van Roy, Vincent & Vértesy, Dániel & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "Technology and employment: Mass unemployment or job creation? Empirical evidence from European patenting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1762-1776.
    25. Flavio Calvino & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2018. "The Innovation†Employment Nexus: A Critical Survey Of Theory And Empirics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 83-117, February.
    26. Greenaway, David & Hine, Robert C. & Wright, Peter, 1999. "An empirical assessment of the impact of trade on employment in the United Kingdom," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 485-500, September.
    27. Shampa Paul & Kaushalesh Lal, 2021. "Technology Intensity and Employment in the Indian Economy," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 20(1), pages 34-52, June.
    28. Sheba Tejani, 2016. "Jobless growth in India: an investigation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 40(3), pages 843-870.
    29. Chinkook Lee & Gerald Schluter, 1999. "Effect of Trade on the Demand for Skilled and Unskilled Workers," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 49-66.
    30. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    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. Rupika Khanna & Chandan Sharma, 2025. "Imported inputs and productivity: Unraveling the dynamics in India's manufacturing sector," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(1), pages 409-424, January.

    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. Yang, Chih-Hai, 2022. "How Artificial Intelligence Technology Affects Productivity and Employment: Firm-level Evidence from Taiwan," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    2. Chandan Sharma & Ritesh Kumar Mishra, 2023. "Imports, technology, and employment: Job creation or creative destruction," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(1), pages 152-170, January.
    3. Destefanis, Sergio & Rehman, Naqeeb Ur, 2023. "Investment, innovation activities and employment across European regions," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 474-490.
    4. Başak Dalgıç & Burcu Fazlıoğlu & Aytekin Güven, 2023. "Innovation, employment and market structure: firm level evidence from Turkey," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1385-1407, September.
    5. Borsato, Andrea & Lorentz, André, 2023. "The Kaldor–Verdoorn law at the age of robots and AI," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(10).
    6. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2022. "Employment effects of R&D and process innovation: evidence from small and medium-sized firms in emerging markets," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(1), pages 97-123, March.
    7. Heijs, Joost & Arenas Díaz, Guillermo & Vergara Reyes, Delia Margarita, 2019. "Impact of innovation on employment in quantitative terms: review of empirical literature based on microdata," MPRA Paper 95326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Luigi Aldieri & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2018. "Green Economy and Sustainable Development: The Economic Impact of Innovation on Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-11, October.
    9. Damioli, G. & Van Roy, V. & Vertesy, D. & Vivarelli, M., 2021. "May AI revolution be labour-friendly? Some micro evidence from the supply side," GLO Discussion Paper Series 823, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2023. "Do unilateral trade preferences help reduce poverty in beneficiary countries?," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 249-288, February.
    11. Dosi, G. & Piva, M. & Virgillito, M.E. & Vivarelli, M., 2021. "Embodied and disembodied technological change: The sectoral patterns of job-creation and job-destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    12. Giovanni Dosi & Mariacristina Piva & Maria Enrica Virgillito & Marco Vivarelli, 2019. "Technology and employment in a vertically connected economy: a model and an empirical test," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0005, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    13. Njikam, Ousmanou, 2016. "Trade liberalization, labor market regulations and labor demand in Cameroon," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 525-541.
    14. Elena Meschi & Erol Taymaz & Marco Vivarelli, 2016. "Globalization, technological change and labor demand: a firm-level analysis for Turkey," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(4), pages 655-680, November.
    15. Van Roy, Vincent & Vértesy, Dániel & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "Technology and employment: Mass unemployment or job creation? Empirical evidence from European patenting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1762-1776.
    16. Talla Fokam, Dieu Ne Dort & Kamga, Benjamin Fomba & Nchofoung, Tii N., 2023. "Information and communication technologies and employment in developing countries: Effects and transmission channels," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8).
    17. Cresti, Lorenzo & Dosi, Giovanni & Fagiolo, Giorgio, 2023. "Technological interdependencies and employment changes in European industries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 41-57.
    18. Giacomo Damioli & Vincent Van Roy & Daniel Vertesy & Marco Vivarelli, 2021. "Detecting the labour-friendly nature of AI product innovation," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0017, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    19. Chee‐Hong Law & Siong Hook Law, 2024. "The non‐linear impacts of innovation on unemployment: Evidence from panel data," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 402-424, January.
    20. Gabriele Pellegrino & Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2019. "Beyond R&D: the role of embodied technological change in affecting employment," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 1151-1171, September.

    More about this item

    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:wly:mgtdec:v:45:y:2024:i:2:p:989-1005. 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://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.