The effects of import competition on worker health

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: McManus, T. Clay; Schaur, Georg
• 署名单位: University System of Ohio; Xavier University; University of Tennessee System; University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2016.06.003
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 160-172
• 关键词: import competition; safety; injuries; trade liberalization

摘要

Occupational health is an important determinant of workers' welfare. Existing mechanisms and evidence from the international trade and occupational safety literatures combine to predict that import competition impacts work place injuries, especially at small firms that are most affected by foreign imports. We examine this prediction with novel data on injuries at US manufacturers using Chinese import growth in 1996-2007 as a shock to competition. The data show that injury rates in the competing US industries increase over the short to medium run, particularly at smaller establishments. Back-of-the-envelope calculations show that injury risk increases by 13% at the smallest establishments, the equivalent of a 1% to 2% reduction in workers' wages. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.