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Exports, Imports and Wages:Evidence from Matched Firm-Worker-Product Panels

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  • Luca David Opromolla
  • Pedro Martins

Abstract

The analysis of the effects of firm-level international trade on wages has so far focused on the role of exports, which are also typically treated as a composite good. However, we show in this paper that firm-level imports can actually be a wage determinant as important as exports. Furthermore, we also find significant differences in the relationship between trade and wages across types of products. In particular, firms that increase their exports (imports) of high- (intermediate-) technology products tend to increase their salaries. Our analysis is based on unique data from Portugal, obtained by merging a matched firm-worker panel and a matched firm-transaction panel. Our data set follows the population of manufacturing firms and all their workers from 1995 to 2005 and allows for several control variables, including jobspell fixed effects.

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  • Luca David Opromolla & Pedro Martins, 2010. "Exports, Imports and Wages:Evidence from Matched Firm-Worker-Product Panels," Working Papers w201002, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ptu:wpaper:w201002
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    Cited by:

    1. Klein, Michael W. & Moser, Christoph & Urban, Dieter M., 2013. "Exporting, skills and wage inequality," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 76-85.
    2. Alfonso Irarrazabal & Andreas Moxnes & Luca David Opromolla, 2015. "The Tip of the Iceberg: A Quantitative Framework for Estimating Trade Costs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(4), pages 777-792, October.
    3. David Hummels & Rasmus J?rgensen & Jakob Munch & Chong Xiang, 2014. "The Wage Effects of Offshoring: Evidence from Danish Matched Worker-Firm Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(6), pages 1597-1629, June.
    4. Philip Du Caju & François Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2012. "Wage structure effects of international trade in a small open economy: the case of Belgium," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 148(2), pages 297-331, June.
    5. Carli Bezuidenhout & Marianne Matthee & Neil Rankin, 2021. "Exporting and the wage premium: The case of South African manufacturing firms," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 2031-2051, November.
    6. Philip Du Caju & François Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2011. "Wage Structure Effects of International Trade: Evidence from a Small Open Economy," Working Papers CEB 11-011, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    7. El-Sahli, Zouheir & Gullstrand, Joakim & Olofsdotter, Karin, 2017. "The Internal and External Effects of Offshoring on Job Security," Working Papers 2017:14, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    8. Giordano Mion & Luca David Opromolla, 2011. "Managers' Mobility, Trade Status and Wages," CEP Discussion Papers dp1044, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    9. Köllö, János & Boza, István & Balázsi, László, 2021. "Wage gains from foreign ownership: evidence from linked employer-employee data," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 55, pages 1-3.
    10. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "International Trade and Firm Performance: A Survey of Empirical Studies since 2006," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Microeconometrics of International Trade, chapter 2, pages 43-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Domenico Buccella, 2011. "Labor unions and economic integration: A review," Económica, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0, pages 25-89, January-D.
    12. Michael W. Klein & Christoph Moser & Dieter M. Urban, 2010. "The Contribution of Trade to Wage Inequality: The Role of Skill, Gender, and Nationality," NBER Working Papers 15985, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Matilde Cardoso & Pedro Cunha Neves & Oscar Afonso & Elena Sochirca, 2021. "The effects of offshoring on wages: a meta-analysis," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(1), pages 149-179, February.
    14. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "A survey of empirical studies using transaction level data on exports and imports," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(1), pages 215-225, February.
    15. Nicola Gagliardi & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx, 2020. "Trade, GVCs, and wage inequality: Theoretical and empirical insights," Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 115-134.
    16. David Hummels & Jakob R. Munch & Chong Xiang, 2018. "Offshoring and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 981-1028, September.
    17. Giorgia Giovannetti & Enrico Marvasi & Arianna Vivoli, 2021. "The asymmetric effects of 20 years of tariff reforms on Egyptian workers," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(1), pages 89-130, April.
    18. Kasahara, Hiroyuki & Liang, Yawen & Rodrigue, Joel, 2016. "Does importing intermediates increase the demand for skilled workers? Plant-level evidence from Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 242-261.
    19. Chunyan Zhao & Shiping Wang, 2023. "Do City Exports Increase City Wages? Empirical Evidence from 286 Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-12, January.
    20. Guido Matias Cortes, 2016. "Where Have the Middle-Wage Workers Gone? A Study of Polarization Using Panel Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 63-105.
    21. Jayanthakumaran, Kankesu & Sangkaew, Piyapong & O’Brien, Martin, 2013. "Trade liberalisation and manufacturing wage premiums: Evidence from Thailand," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 15-23.
    22. Zouheir El-Sahli & Joakim Gullstrand & Karin Olofsdotter, 2022. "The external effects of offshoring on job security in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1613-1640, December.
    23. Hacer Simay Karaalp-Orhan & Orhan Sevcan Günes, 2016. "The Effect of Foreign Trade on Real Wages: The Case of Turkey," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2016(4), pages 411-426.
    24. Farole, Thomas & Hollweg, Claire & Winkler, Deborah, 2018. "Trade in Global Value Chain: An Assessment of Labor Market Implication," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 30318036, The World Bank.

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    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

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