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Machines and machinists: Capital-skill complementarity from an international trade perspective

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  • Csillag, Márton
  • Koren, Miklós

Abstract

We estimate the effect of imported machines on the wages of machine operators utilizing Hungarian linked employer-employee data. We infer exposure to imported machines from detailed trade statistics of the firm and the occupation description of the worker. We find that workers exposed to imported machines earn about 8 percent higher wages than other machine operators at the same firm. When we proxy for unobserved worker characteristics, we find a significant 3 percent wage premium, suggesting that the relationship is causal. The return to schooling is also higher on imported machines. We build a simple matching model consistent with these findings. Our findings suggest that machine imports can be an important channel through which skill-biased technical change reaches less developed and emerging economies.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 8317.

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Date of creation: Apr 2011
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8317
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Keywords: capital-skill complementarity; imported machinery; linked employer-employee data; wages;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Verhoogen, Eric A, 2007. "Trade, Quality Upgrading and Wage Inequality in the Mexican Manufacturing Sector," CEPR Discussion Papers 6385, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  2. Alfaro, Laura & Hammel, Eliza, 2007. "Capital flows and capital goods," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 128-150, May.
  3. Paula Bustos, 2005. "The impact of trade liberalization on skill upgrading. Evidence from Argentina," Economics Working Papers 1189, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jul 2011.
  4. Paula Bustos, 2010. "Trade Liberalization, Technology and Skill Upgrading. Evidence from Argentina," 2010 Meeting Papers 937, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  5. Alexandra Spitz-Oener, 2006. "Technical Change, Job Tasks, and Rising Educational Demands: Looking outside the Wage Structure," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(2), pages 235-270, April.
  6. Francesco Caselli & Daniel Wilson, 2003. "Importing technology," Working Paper Series 2003-04, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
  7. Brown, J. David & Earle, John S. & Telegdy, Álmos, 2008. "Employment and Wage Effects of Privatization: Evidence from Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine," IZA Discussion Papers 3688, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  8. Aitken, Brian & Harrison, Ann & Lipsey, Robert E., 1996. "Wages and foreign ownership A comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-4), pages 345-371, May.
  9. Boyan Jovanovic, 1998. "Vintage Capital and Inequality," NBER Working Papers 6416, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  10. Arnaud Costinot & Jonathan Vogel, 2009. "Matching and Inequality in the World Economy," NBER Working Papers 14672, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  11. László Halpern & Miklós Koren & Adam Szeidl, 2011. "Imported Inputs and Productivity," CeFiG Working Papers 8, Center for Firms in the Global Economy, revised 16 Sep 2011.
  12. Elhanan Helpman & David T. Coe, 1993. "International RandD Spillovers," IMF Working Papers 93/84, International Monetary Fund.
  13. Entorf, Horst & Gollac, Michel & Kramarz, Francis, 1999. "New Technologies, Wages, and Worker Selection," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(3), pages 464-91, July.
  14. Oi, Walter Y. & Idson, Todd L., 1999. "Firm size and wages," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2165-2214 Elsevier.
  15. Halpern, László & Koren, Miklós & Szeidl, Adam, 2005. "Imports and Productivity," CEPR Discussion Papers 5139, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  16. Timothy Dunne & J. Bradford Jensen & Mark J. Roberts, 2009. "Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number dunn05-1, November.
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Cited by:

  1. Chinhui Juhn & Gergely Ujhelyi & Carolina Villegas-Sanchez, 2012. "Men, Women, and Machines: How Trade Impacts Gender Inequality," NBER Working Papers 18106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Alessia LO TURCO & Daniela MAGGIONI, 2012. "Does trade foster employment growth in emerging markets? Evidence from Turkey," Working Papers 383, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
  3. Békés, Gábor & Halpern, László & Muraközy, Balázs, 2013. "Külkereskedelem és a vállalatok közötti különbségek
    [Heterogeneous firms and foreign trade]    ," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 1-24.
  4. Kézdi, Gábor & Mátyás, László & Balázsi, László & Divényi, János Károly, 2014. "A közgazdasági adatforradalom és a panelökonometria
    [The revolution in economic data and panel econometrics]    ," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1319-1340.

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