Trade, technology, and the rise of the service sector: The effects on US wage inequality

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Blum, Bemardo S.
• 署名单位: University of Toronto
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2007.06.003
• 发表日期: 2008
• 页码: 441-458
• 关键词: International trade; Ricardo-Viner; income inequality; structural change; technological change

摘要

This paper uses a multi-sector version of the Ricardo-Viner model of international trade to quantify empirically the effects of technological changes, international trade, changes in the sectoral composition of the economy, and other factors on the US wage premium. The main finding of the paper is that changes in the sectoral composition of the economy were the most important force behind the widening of the wage gap, accounting for about 60% of the relative increase in wages of skilled workers between 1970 and 1996. In essence, capital was reallocated to sectors where it is relatively complementary to skilled workers. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.