IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/apacel/v38y2024i1p3-33.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trade liberalisation and the wage premium: evidence from Thai manufacturing

Author

Listed:
  • Juthathip Jongwanich

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of trade liberalisation on the wage premium using firm level data for Thai manufacturing as the case study. Tariff protection is applied here to represent trade liberalisation, in terms of both nominal and effective tariffs. Output and input tariffs are separately examined to assess nominal protection, while for effective rates of protection (ERP), both a traditional ERP measure and a measure incorporating possible water in tariffs and the effect of FTAs are applied. In addition to tariff protection, the impact of GVCs, considered through trade in parts and components (P&Cs), on the wage premium is investigated in the study. Our results show that firm‐specific factors are more crucial in affecting the wage premium than trade liberalisation and participation in global production networks. With trade liberalisation, only input tariffs matter in determining the wage premium while an insignificant relationship is observed when either output tariffs or ERPs are employed to reflect trade liberalisation. Participation in GVCs also has an insignificant impact on the wage premium. Wage‐skilled employment decoupling is evident in the study, that is, trade liberalisation and GVCs have a negligible influence on the wage premium but have a significant influence in the case of relatively skilled workers. Trade liberalisation tends to lower demand for skilled workers in response to cheaper imported products, while participation in global production networks encourages more skilled workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Juthathip Jongwanich, 2024. "Trade liberalisation and the wage premium: evidence from Thai manufacturing," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 38(1), pages 3-33, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:apacel:v:38:y:2024:i:1:p:3-33
    DOI: 10.1111/apel.12399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/apel.12399
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/apel.12399?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Per Krusell & Lee E. Ohanian & JosÈ-Victor RÌos-Rull & Giovanni L. Violante, 2000. "Capital-Skill Complementarity and Inequality: A Macroeconomic Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(5), pages 1029-1054, September.
    2. Gordon H. Hanson & Ann Harrison, 2022. "Trade Liberalization And Wage Inequality In Mexico," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 3, pages 43-60, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Philippe Aghion & Jing Cai & Mathias Dewatripont & Luosha Du & Ann Harrison & Patrick Legros, 2022. "Industrial Policy and Competition," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 15, pages 349-380, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Amiti, Mary & Cameron, Lisa, 2012. "Trade Liberalization and the Wage Skill Premium: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 277-287.
    5. Eric A. Verhoogen, 2008. "Trade, Quality Upgrading, and Wage Inequality in the Mexican Manufacturing Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 489-530.
    6. Greenaway, David & Hine, Robert C. & Wright, Peter, 1999. "An empirical assessment of the impact of trade on employment in the United Kingdom," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 485-500, September.
    7. Francesco Di Comite & Antonella Nocco & Gianluca Orefice, 2018. "Correction to: Trade liberalization and the wage gap: the role of vertical linkages and fixed costs," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(1), pages 117-117, February.
    8. Galiani, Sebastian & Sanguinetti, Pablo, 2003. "The impact of trade liberalization on wage inequality: evidence from Argentina," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 497-513, December.
    9. Fabio Ghironi & Marc J. Melitz, 2005. "International Trade and Macroeconomic Dynamics with Heterogeneous Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(3), pages 865-915.
    10. Caves,Richard E., 2007. "Multinational Enterprise and Economic Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521860130, January.
    11. Utsav Kumar & Prachi Mishra, 2008. "Trade Liberalization and Wage Inequality: Evidence from India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(2), pages 291-311, May.
    12. Howard Pack & Kamal Saggi, 2006. "Is There a Case for Industrial Policy? A Critical Survey," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 267-297.
    13. Wolfgang Lechthaler & Mariya Mileva, 2019. "Trade liberalization and wage inequality: new insights from a dynamic trade model with heterogeneous firms and comparative advantage," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 155(3), pages 407-457, August.
    14. Ricardo Hausmann & Jason Hwang & Dani Rodrik, 2007. "What you export matters," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, March.
    15. Attanasio, Orazio & Goldberg, Pinelopi K. & Pavcnik, Nina, 2004. "Trade reforms and wage inequality in Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 331-366, August.
    16. Olivier Cadot & Céline Carrère & Vanessa Strauss-Kahn, 2013. "Trade Diversification, Income, And Growth: What Do We Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 790-812, September.
    17. Ms. Prachi Mishra & Mr. Utsav Kumar, 2005. "Trade Liberalization and Wage Inequality: Evidence From India," IMF Working Papers 2005/020, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Goldberg, Pinelopi Koujianou & Pavcnik, Nina, 2005. "Trade, wages, and the political economy of trade protection: evidence from the Colombian trade reforms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 75-105, May.
    19. Bruce Greenwald & Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2006. "Helping Infant Economies Grow: Foundations of Trade Policies for Developing Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 141-146, May.
    20. Paula Bustos, 2011. "Trade Liberalization, Exports, and Technology Upgrading: Evidence on the Impact of MERCOSUR on Argentinian Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 304-340, February.
    21. Melitz, Marc J., 2005. "When and how should infant industries be protected?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 177-196, May.
    22. Janet Currie & Ann Harrison, 2022. "Sharing the Costs: The Impact of Trade Reform on Capital and Labor in Morocco," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 2, pages 15-42, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    23. Mary Amiti & Jozef Konings, 2007. "Trade Liberalization, Intermediate Inputs, and Productivity: Evidence from Indonesia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(5), pages 1611-1638, December.
    24. Revenga, Ana, 1997. "Employment and Wage Effects of Trade Liberalization: The Case of Mexican Manufacturing," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 20-43, July.
    25. Zadia M. Feliciano, 2001. "Workers and Trade Liberalization: The Impact of Trade Reforms in Mexico on Wages and Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(1), pages 95-115, October.
    26. Caves,Richard E., 2007. "Multinational Enterprise and Economic Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521677530, January.
    27. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    28. Milner, Chris & Wright, Peter, 1998. "Modelling Labour Market Adjustment to Trade Liberalisation in an Industrialising Economy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(447), pages 509-528, March.
    29. Francesco Di Comite & Antonella Nocco & Gianluca Orefice, 2018. "Trade liberalization and the wage gap: the role of vertical linkages and fixed costs," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(1), pages 75-115, February.
    30. Petia Topalova & Amit Khandelwal, 2011. "Trade Liberalization and Firm Productivity: The Case of India," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(3), pages 995-1009, August.
    31. Robertson, Raymond, 2004. "Relative prices and wage inequality: evidence from Mexico," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 387-409, December.
    32. Alan Manning, 2006. "A Generalised Model of Monopsony," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(508), pages 84-100, January.
    33. Juthathip Jongwanich & Archanun Kohpaiboon, 2017. "Trade Protection and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Thai Manufacturing," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 55(2), pages 130-157, June.
    34. Mita Bhattacharya & Kien Trung Nguyen, 2019. "Trade liberalization and the wage–skill premium: Evidence from Vietnamese manufacturing," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 519-540, February.
    35. Raymond Robertson, 2000. "Trade Liberalisation and Wage Inequality: Lessons from the Mexican Experience," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(6), pages 827-849, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2007. "Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(1), pages 39-82, March.
    2. Zouhair Mrabet, 2012. "The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Labor Market of Developing Countries: What can Literature tell us?," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 4(6), pages 307-318.
    3. Yoshimichi Murakami, 2021. "Trade liberalization and wage inequality: Evidence from Chile," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 407-438, April.
    4. Juhn, Chinhui & Ujhelyi, Gergely & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2014. "Men, women, and machines: How trade impacts gender inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 179-193.
    5. Archanun Kohpaiboon & Juthatip Jongwanich, . "Global Production Sharing and Wage Premium: Evidence from Thai Manufacturing," Chapters, in: Chine Hee HAHN & Dionisius Narjoko (ed.), Impact of Globalization on Labor Market, chapter 6, pages 134-163, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    6. Hoekman & Bernard & Winters, L. Alan, 2005. "Trade and employment : stylized facts and research findings," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3676, The World Bank.
    7. Juthathip Jongwanich & Archanun Kohpaiboon, 2020. "Effectiveness of industrial policy on firm productivity: evidence from Thai manufacturing," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 34(2), pages 39-63, November.
    8. Zhou, Yonghong & Zheng, Xian & Yuan, Ziqing, 2022. "Trade liberalization and wages: Evidence from the closer economic partnership arrangement between mainland China and Hong Kong," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Sebastián Galiani & Guido Porto, 2011. "Trends in Tariff Reforms and Trends in the Structure of Wages," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0124, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    10. Petia Topalova, 2010. "Factor Immobility and Regional Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Evidence on Poverty from India," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 1-41, October.
    11. Louren篠S. Paz, 2014. "Trade liberalization and the inter-industry wage premia: the missing role of productivity," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 408-419, February.
    12. Iacovone, Leonardo, 2012. "The better you are the stronger it makes you: Evidence on the asymmetric impact of liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 474-485.
    13. Atolia, Manoj & Kurokawa, Yoshinori, 2016. "The impact of trade margins on the skill premium: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 895-915.
    14. Yoshimichi Murakami, 2018. "Globalization and Income Inequality in Latin America: A Review of Theoretical Developments and Recent Evidence," Discussion Paper Series DP2018-16, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Aug 2018.
    15. Francesco Di Comite & Antonella Nocco & Gianluca Orefice, 2014. "Tariff reductions, trade patterns and the wage gap in a monopolistic competition model with vertical linkages," Working Papers 2014-02, CEPII research center.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5843 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Archanun Kohpaiboon & Juthathip Jongwanich, 2014. "Global Production Sharing and Wage Premiums: Evidence from the Thai Manufacturing Sector," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 31(2), pages 141-164, September.
    18. Juhn, Chinhui & Ujhelyi, Gergely & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2014. "Men, women, and machines: How trade impacts gender inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 179-193.
    19. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Aid for Trade flows and Wage Inequality in the manufacturing sector of recipient-countries," EconStor Preprints 213936, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    20. Nina Pavcnik, 2017. "The Impact of Trade on Inequality in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 23878, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Pinelopi K. Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2004. "Trade, Inequality, and Poverty: What Do We Know? Evidence from Recent Trade Liberalization Episodes in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 10593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:apacel:v:38:y:2024:i:1:p:3-33. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14678411 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.