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Trade Liberalization and the Great Labor Reallocation

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  • Zi, Yuan

Abstract

The extent to which a country can benefit from trade openness crucially depends on how easily it can reallocate resources. However, we know little about the role of domestic frictions in shaping the effects of trade policy. I address this question by analyzing the impact of tariff reductions on the spatial allocation of labor in China and how this impact depends on migration frictions that stem from China's household registration system (hukou). I first provide reduced-form evidence that input trade liberalization has induced significant spatial labor reallocation in China, with a stronger effect in regions with less hukou frictions. The quantitative exercise shows that trade liberalization increases China's welfare by 0.71%. Abolishing the hukou system leads to a direct welfare improvement of 1.33%. Additionally, it increases gains from tariff reductions by 2% and alleviates the latter's negative distributional consequences. I also develop a novel measure of migration frictions associated with the hukou system.

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  • Zi, Yuan, 2020. "Trade Liberalization and the Great Labor Reallocation," CEPR Discussion Papers 14490, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14490
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Chen & Ma, Xiao, 2018. "China's Export Surge and the New Margins of Trade," MPRA Paper 103970, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2020.
    2. Min Fang & Libin Han & Zibin Huang & Ming Lu & Li Zhang, 2022. "Place-based Land Policy and Spatial Misallocation: Theory and Evidence from China," Working Papers 002002, University of Florida, Department of Economics.
    3. Yuan Tian & Junjie Xia & Rudai Yang, 2020. "Trade-induced urbanization and the making of modern agriculture," Discussion Papers 2020-16, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    4. Hsu, Wen-Tai & Ma, Lin, 2021. "Urbanization policy and economic development: A quantitative analysis of China's differential hukou reforms," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Wang, Feicheng & Milner, Chris & Scheffel, Juliane, 2021. "Labour market reform and firm-level employment adjustment: Evidence from the hukou reform in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Zhou, Shen & He, Bing & Ni, He-yong-le & Pang, Shuqing, 2022. "Trade liberalization and regional labor market dynamics: Evidence from China’s WTO accession," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    hukou frictions; input trade liberalization; spatial labor reallocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

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