IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/faulre/48.html

The German-Czech Border Region after the Fall of the Iron Curtain : Effects on the Labour Market

Author

Listed:
  • Moritz, Michael
  • Gröger, Margit

Abstract

Using the IAB Employment Sample (IABS) covering 1980-2001 we investigate what impact the fall of the Iron Curtain has had on the skill structure of employment and wages in the western German districts neighbouring the Czech Republic. The introduction of free trade in this region, which has one of the world´s largest spatial wage differentials, can be seen as a natural experiment. We presume that changes in skill and wage structures are particularly apparent in the regions situated immediately on the open border. Distinguishing three skill categories we obtain unexpected results. Though we observe a general shift from low-skilled jobs towards skilled jobs and a convergence trend of border regions towards the national average, we do not find a special effect for the period after the opening of the border, neither concerning the skill structure nor the wage differentials.

Suggested Citation

  • Moritz, Michael & Gröger, Margit, 2006. "The German-Czech Border Region after the Fall of the Iron Curtain : Effects on the Labour Market," Discussion Papers 48, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:faulre:48
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/23790/1/DP48.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Niebuhr, Annekatrin, 2004. "Spatial Effects of European Integration: Do Border Regions Benefit Above Average?," HWWA Discussion Papers 307, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    2. Barjak, Franz & Heimpold, Gerhard, 1999. "Development Problems and Policies at the German Border with Poland," ERSA conference papers ersa99pa136, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2008. "The impact of EU enlargement on European border regions," International Journal of Public Policy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(3/4), pages 163-186.
    4. Eli Berman & John Bound & Zvi Griliches, 1994. "Changes in the Demand for Skilled Labor within U. S. Manufacturing: Evidence from the Annual Survey of Manufactures," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 367-397.
    5. Jim Airola & Chinhui Juhn, 2008. "Wage Inequality in Post-Reform Mexico," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 17(1), pages 110-134, March.
    6. Robert Z. Lawrence & Matthew J. Slaughter, 1993. "International Trade and American Wages in the 1980s: Giant Sucking Sound or Small Hiccup?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 24(2 Microec), pages 161-226.
    7. George J. Borjas & Valerie A. Ramey, 1995. "Foreign Competition, Market Power, and Wage Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 1075-1110.
    8. Bound, John & Johnson, George, 1992. "Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980's: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 371-392, June.
    9. Feenstra, Robert C. & Hanson, Gordon H., 1997. "Foreign direct investment and relative wages: Evidence from Mexico's maquiladoras," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3-4), pages 371-393, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Boris Hirsch, 2007. "Joan Robinson Meets Harold Hotelling: A Dyopsonistic Explanation of the Gender Pay Gap," Working Papers 024, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moritz, Michael & Gröger, Margit, 2007. "The German-Czech border region after the fall of the Iron Curtain: Effects on the labour market : an empirical study using the IAB Employment Sample (IABS)," IAB-Discussion Paper 200701, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    2. Sakurai, Kojiro, 2001. "Biased Technological Change and Japanese Manufacturing Employment," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 298-322, September.
    3. Robert Feenstra & Gordon Hanson, 2001. "Global Production Sharing and Rising Inequality: A Survey of Trade and Wages," NBER Working Papers 8372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Sujata Basu, "undated". "R & D Sector Outsourcing, Human Capital Formation and Growth in the Context of Developed versus Developing Economies," Centre for International Trade and Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Discussion Papers 15-05, Centre for International Trade and Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
    5. Zadia M. Feliciano, 2001. "Workers and Trade Liberalization: The Impact of Trade Reforms in Mexico on Wages and Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(1), pages 95-115, October.
    6. Wen‐Jung Liang & Chao‐Cheng Mai, 2003. "Capital Flows, Vertical Multinationals, Wage Inequality, and Welfare," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(4), pages 599-608, November.
    7. Clem Tisdell & Serge Svizzero, 2004. "Globalization, Social Welfare, Public Policy And Labor Inequalities," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 49(02), pages 233-253.
    8. Naoko Shinkai, 2000. "Does the Stopler-Samuelson Theorem Explain the Movement in Wages? The Linkage Between Trade and Wages in Latin American Countries," Research Department Publications 4237, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    9. Naoko Shinkai, 2000. "¿Explica el teorema Stopler-Samuelson el desplazamiento de los salarios? El vínculo entre el comercio internacional y los salarios en países latinoamericanos," Research Department Publications 4238, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    10. 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.
    11. Thierry Verdier, 2005. "Intégration commerciale « socialement responsable » : une approche en termes d'économie politique," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 13(4), pages 55-121.
    12. Rosario Crinò, 2009. "Offshoring, Multinationals And Labour Market: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 197-249, April.
    13. Dumont, Michel, 2004. "The Impact of International Trade with Newly Industrialised Countries on the Wages and Employment of Low-Skilled and High-Skilled Workers in the European Union," Thesis Commons bmxag, Center for Open Science.
    14. ?ule ?zler, 2013. "Worker Composition and Export Decision: Evidence from Colombia," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 3, pages 33-52, November.
    15. Gordon H. Hanson & Ann Harrison, 2022. "Trade Liberalization And Wage Inequality In Mexico," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 3, pages 43-60, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    16. Sabine Engelmann, 2014. "International trade, technological change and wage inequality in the UK economy," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 41(2), pages 223-246, May.
    17. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Nora Lustig, 2017. "Labour income inequality in Mexico: Puzzles solved and unsolved," Working Papers 1719, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    18. Bernard Hoekman & Alan L. Winters, 2005. "Trade and Employment: Stylized Facts and Research Findings," Working Papers 7, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    19. Manasse, Paolo & Stanca, Luca & Turrini, Alessandro, 2004. "Wage premia and skill upgrading in Italy: why didn't the hound bark?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 59-83, February.
    20. Kaveri Deb & William R. Hauk, 2020. "The Impact of Chinese Imports on Indian Wage Inequality," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 267-290, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:faulre:48. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vierlde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.