International Trade And Labor Markets

The world economy has undergone miraculous changes in the last decade, particularly in developing and former communist countries. Privatization and trade liberalization have replaced the protectionist and statist policies that were deeply entrenched in these areas just ten years ago. Today, these dynamic emerging markets offer attractive opportunities. According to Robert Lawrence, liberal international trade and investment should provide significant opportunities for gains in developing and developed nations alike. But will the developed countries be allowed to keep their markets open and absorb exports from developing countries? Many in the U.S. and Europe blame international trade for unemployment and wage inequality. But what is the real relationship? Lawrence contends that while trade has played some role in reducing the wages of poorly educated workers in the U.S. and in raising the unemployment of unskilled workers in Europe, its impact has been small compared with other causes of these changes. Lawrence examines the role of trade in developed and developing countries and its impact on labor markets and wage inequality, and discusses what he considers the more important effects of technological and organizational change. He begins by focusing on U.S. wage behavior, then moves to wage behavior in the OECD countries. Lawrence concludes that the impact of globalization on OECD labor markets has been far less damaging than many have argued and, indeed, that international trade enhances national welfare. He presents considerable evidence that the sources of poor labor market performance are essentially domestic—they reflect ongoing technological and organizational shocks that would be present even if the economy was closed. This evidence suggests that international differences in wage rates and labor standards are not major factors in OECD labor market behavior. He explains that the major challenges to policy are educating the public on t

A topical examination of the impact of globalization and the intricate relationship between international trade and labour markets, containing theoretical and empirical studies of countries including UK, Mexico and Chile. The distinguished international contributors demonstrate the importance of this emerging research agenda analyzing the importance of trade reforms on employment and the impact on skilled and unskilled labour from technological change and global competition.

Since the early 1980s, the U.S. economy has experienced a growing wage differential: high-skilled workers have claimed an increasing share of available income, while low-skilled workers have seen an absolute decline in real wages. How and why this disparity has arisen is a matter of ongoing debate among policymakers and economists. Two competing theories have emerged to explain this phenomenon, one focusing on international trade and labor market globalization as the driving force behind the devaluation of low-skill jobs, and the other focusing on the role of technological change as a catalyst for the escalation of high-skill wages. This collection brings together innovative new ideas and data sources in order to provide more satisfying alternatives to the trade versus technology debate and to assess directly the specific impact of international trade on U.S. wages. This timely volume offers a thorough appraisal of the wage distribution predicament, examining the continued effects of technology and globalization on the labor market.

While most standard economic models of international trade assume full employment, Carl Davidson and Steven Matusz have argued over the past two decades that this reliance on full-employment modeling is misleading and ill-equipped to tackle many important trade-related questions. This book brings together the authors' pioneering work in creating models that more accurately reflect the real-world connections between international trade and labor markets. The material collected here presents the theoretical and empirical foundations of equilibrium unemployment modeling, which the authors and their collaborators developed to give researchers and policymakers a more realistic picture of how international trade affects labor markets, and of how transnational differences in labor markets affect international trade. They address the shortcomings of standard models, describe the empirics that underlie equilibrium unemployment models, and illustrate how these new models can yield vital insights into the relationship between international trade and employment. This volume also includes an indispensable general introduction as well as concise section introductions that put the authors' work in context and reveal the thinking behind their ideas. Economists are only now realizing just how important these ideas are, making this book essential reading for researchers and students.

This volume collects theoretical papers on the labor market effects of international trade that Udo Kreickemeier has published, together with different co-authors, over the past decade. Many contributions contained in this volume feature labor market imperfections that give rise to involuntary unemployment, and in those contributions, the question of how trade affects aggregate employment typically takes center stage in the analysis. Another recurring theme in many papers is the link between international trade and the income distribution within countries. The channels explored in the different papers include union wage premia, exporter wage premia due to firm-level rent sharing, and ability premia to entrepreneurs that are able to capitalize on their high productivity in global markets.

This report quantifies labor mobility costs in developing countries and simulates the implied adjustment paths of employment and wages following a change in trade policy. High mobility costs are shown to reduce the potential gains to trade reform.

This paper summarizes the results of recent research into the effects of international trade on labor demand highlighting three areas which may require further investigation. These areas being: the relationship between labor market variables and trade policy measures, the issue of trade and labor market outcomes from a consistent cross-country perspective, and finally, the role of labor market institutions and production internalization.

"This volume collects theoretical papers on the labor market effects of international trade that Udo Kreickemeier has published, together with different co-authors, over the past decade. Many contributions contained in this volume feature labor market imperfections that give rise to involuntary unemployment, and in those contributions, the question of how trade affects aggregate employment typically takes center stage in the analysis. Another recurring theme in many papers is the link between international trade and the income distribution within countries. The channels explored in the different papers include union wage premia, exporter wage premia due to firm-level rent sharing, and ability premia to entrepreneurs that are able to capitalize on their high productivity in global markets."--Publisher's website.

Conference paper on the impact of trade and USA foreign investments on the labour market and employment - examines effects of trade barriers, free trade, technology transfer, etc. On layoff, labour turnover, import competition, unemployment (incl. In the iron and steel industry and motor vehicle industry), etc., and considers implications of an adjustment assistance programme for employment policy and tariff policy. Graphs, references and statistical tables. Conference held in Washington 1976 December 2 and 3.