Skill Acquisition and the Gains From Trade: A Cross-Country Quantitative Analysis

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Ma, Xiao; Nakab, Alejandro; Zhang, Yiran
• 署名单位: Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKU Shenzhen); Peking University; Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Fudan University; Fudan University
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.1111/iere.70018
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: general equilibrium-analysis; INTERNATIONAL-TRADE; PRODUCTIVITY; wages; MODEL; TECHNOLOGY; accumulation; INVESTMENT; INNOVATION; migration

摘要

This paper studies the impact of trade openness on welfare through alterations in workers' skill acquisition. Guided by empirical evidence, we integrate endogenous choices of learning investments into a multisector Eaton-Kortum model. Our model reveals that trade openness influences skill acquisition by two channels: (1) reallocating labor between sectors with varying skill intensities and on-the-job learning opportunities and (2) allowing producers in each country to source varieties from more cost-effective suppliers in other countries, thus reducing costs of material inputs for learning. Our quantification indicates that the gains in skill acquisition account for 5% of the total gains from trade.