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Import Competition and the Great U.S. Employment Sag of the 2000s

Author

Listed:
  • Acemoglu, Daron

    (MIT)

  • Autor, David

    (MIT)

  • Dorn, David

    (University of Zurich)

  • Hanson, Gordon H.

    (Harvard University)

  • Price, Brendan

    (MIT)

Abstract

Even before the Great Recession, U.S. employment growth was unimpressive. Between 2000 and 2007, the economy gave back the considerable employment gains achieved during the 1990s, with a historic contraction in manufacturing employment being a prime contributor to the slump. We estimate that import competition from China, which surged after 2000, was a major force behind both recent reductions in U.S. manufacturing employment and - through input-output linkages and other general equilibrium channels - weak overall U.S. job growth. Our central estimates suggest job losses from rising Chinese import competition over 1999 through 2011 in the range of 2.0 to 2.4 million.

Suggested Citation

  • Acemoglu, Daron & Autor, David & Dorn, David & Hanson, Gordon H. & Price, Brendan, 2015. "Import Competition and the Great U.S. Employment Sag of the 2000s," IZA Discussion Papers 9068, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9068
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trade flows; labor demand;

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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