Trade, inequality, and the endogenous sorting of heterogeneous workers

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lee, Eunhee
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2020.103310
• 发表日期: 2020
• 关键词: trade; Worker heterogeneity; INEQUALITY; Skill premium; occupational choice; Labor reallocation

摘要

I present a new general equilibriumframework to quantify the effect of international trade on labormarket outcomes such as the skill premiumand reallocation of workers for a large number of countries. Worker-level comparative advantage based on workers' heterogeneous productivities is the key feature of the framework. I use household-levelmicrodata to quantify key aspects of themodel for 32 countries. I find that the calibrated decline in trade costs during 2000-2007 increased between-educational-type inequality inmost countries regardless of country-level comparative advantages. The worker-level comparative advantage across sectors and occupations determines both the direction and the magnitude of the effect of trade on labor market outcomes. I also find that trade liberalization during 2000-2007 significantly contributed to the decline inmanufacturingemployment and job polarization in high-income countries. In addition, the model shows that the China effect measured by a decline in trade costs with China and an increase in China's manufacturing productivity during 2000-2007 increased inequality in most countries. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.