Trade and Wage Inequality: The Mediating Roles of Occupations in Germany
- PDF / 786,518 Bytes
- 26 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 56 Downloads / 166 Views
Trade and Wage Inequality: The Mediating Roles of Occupations in Germany Malte Reichelt · Samreen Malik · Marvin Suesse
© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Recent evidence shows that rising wage inequality in industrialized countries can partially be attributed to trade integration. However, it is unclear what the mechanisms behind this relationship are. Previous explanations pointed toward the displacement of mid-wage manufacturing workers as a response to rising imports. However, for Germany it has been shown that rising exports likewise create manufacturing jobs, indicating that industry-based explanations fall short. We argue that focusing on changes of the occupational composition, as well as changes in the occupation-specific median and top wages, may help to explain the effects of trade on inequality. We draw on a task-based approach, theories of power relations between occupations, as well as self-selection by firms to arrive at predictions about the mediating role of occupations. We analyze German trade relations with China between 1994 and 2010 using social security data (BHP, IEB) and data on international trade flows (COMTRADE). Applying an instrumental variable approach, we find that, surprisingly, imports do not affect wage inequality. Instead, rising exports to China are responsible for the effects of trade integration on inequality as they increase wage dispersion within German labor market regions. Although increased M. Reichelt () · S. Malik Social Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates E-Mail: [email protected] S. Malik E-Mail: [email protected] M. Reichelt Institute for Employment Research (IAB) Nuremberg, Germany M. Suesse Trinity College Dublin Dublin, Ireland E-Mail: [email protected]
K
M. Reichelt et al.
trade integration alters the occupational task composition, we find no evidence that these shifts mediate the effects of exports on wage inequality. Instead, exports increase the wages of some occupations, especially for top earners, highlighting the importance of focusing on within-occupation dynamics. Keywords Globalisation · Labor markets · Job polarization · Tasks · Economic inequality
Internationaler Handel und Lohnungleichheit in Deutschland: Die Rolle des Berufs als Mediator Zusammenfassung Neuere Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass sich die steigende Lohnungleichheit in industrialisierten Ländern partiell auf internationale Handelsverflechtungen zurückführen lässt. Noch ist jedoch unklar, welche Mechanismen hinter diesem Zusammenhang stehen. Bisherige Erklärungen stellen heraus, dass steigende Importe Arbeitsplätze im mittleren Lohnsegment des Produktionssektors vernichten. Für Deutschland hat sich jedoch gezeigt, dass Exporte in ähnlichem Maße neue Arbeitsplätze schaffen. Branchenbasierte Erklärungen scheinen also zu kurz zu greifen. Wir argumentieren, dass Veränderungen in der Berufsstruktur und in den berufsspezifischen Median- und Toplöhnen helfen können, den Zusammenhang zwischen Hande
Data Loading...
