Manufacturing wages and imports: Evidence from the NLSY

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Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of imports on US manufacturing wages using the NLSY79 data-set, estimating differential impacts on blue- and white-collar wages. I find that rising imports put downward pressure on wages between 1979 and 1988. This correlation holds for both white- and blue-collar workers, with a somewhat stronger impact on the latter group. Evidence suggests that imports from low-wage countries are responsible for the negative relationship between imports and wages, but only for blue-collar wages. A one-percentage-point increase in the low-wage import share is associated with a 2.8% decline in blue-collar wages. © 2008 The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)259-279
Number of pages21
JournalEconomica
Volume75
Issue number298
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2008

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