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Estimating the Wage Costs of Inter- and Intra-Sectoral Adjustment

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  • Wright, Peter
  • Haynes, Michelle
  • Upward, Richard

Abstract

The proposition that labour market adjustments to intra-industry trade are less costly than adjustments to inter-industry trade is a widely-held belief amongst trade economists. If it is the case that there are significant sector-specific skills, then this ?smooth adjustment hypothesis? seems intuitive. However, direct evidence relating to this issue remains largely anecdotal. In this Paper we adopt the methodology of the micro-econometric labour literature to estimate the returns to tenure within firms, industries and occupations in order to predict the costs, in terms of wage losses, of moving jobs between and within sectors. To do this we use a large panel of individual workers for the UK over a long period (1975?1998), which enables us to control for unobserved fixed effects which may jointly determine the propensity to move jobs and the wage level.

Suggested Citation

  • Wright, Peter & Haynes, Michelle & Upward, Richard, 2001. "Estimating the Wage Costs of Inter- and Intra-Sectoral Adjustment," CEPR Discussion Papers 2710, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2710
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Marius Brülhart & Robert J. R. Elliott & Joanne Lindley, 2006. "Intra-Industry Trade and Labour-Market Adjustment: A Reassessment Using Data on Individual Workers," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 142(3), pages 521-545, October.
    2. Robert J. R. Elliott & Joanne Lindley, 2006. "Skill Specificity And Labour Mobility: Occupational And Sectoral Dimensions," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 74(3), pages 389-413, June.
    3. Abdul Azhar & Robert Elliott, 2003. "On the measurement of trade-induced adjustment," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 139(3), pages 419-439, September.
    4. Gudrun Biffl, 2003. "The Role of Migrants in the Production of Tradeables and Non-tradables. The Case of Austria," WIFO Working Papers 194, WIFO.
    5. Saeed Rasekhi & Saman Ghaderi, 2013. "Marginal Intra-Industry Trade and Employment Reallocation: The Case Study of Iran’s Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 417-429, September.
    6. Abdul Azhar & Robert Elliott, 2011. "A Measure of Trade Induced Adjustment in Volume and Quality Space," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 955-968, November.
    7. Sakshi Aggarwal & Debashis Chakraborty, 2020. "Labour Market Adjustment and Intra-Industry Trade: Empirical Results from Indian Manufacturing Sectors," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 15(2), pages 238-269, August.
    8. Tsou, Meng-Wen & Liu, Jin-Tan & Hammitt, James K. & Chang, Ching-Fu, 2013. "The impact of foreign direct investment in China on employment adjustments in Taiwan: Evidence from matched employer–employee data," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 25, pages 68-79.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mobility; Smooth adjustment; Tenure; Wages; Industry specific skills;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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