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Foreign Direct Investment, Skills And Wage Inequality In East Asia

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  • Dirk Te Velde
  • Oliver Morrissey

Abstract

Foreign direct investment (FDI) can affect the levelanddispersion of wages, but there is a lack of empirical work in this area. This paper tests for the effects of FDI on wages and wage inequality in five East Asian countries. Wage inequality has been low and decreasing in some, but not all, East Asian countries. Using ILO data for wages and employment by occupation, we do not find strong evidence that FDI reduced wage inequality in five East Asian countries over the period 1985–98. Indeed, controlling for domestic influences (wage setting, supply of skills) we find that FDI has raised wage inequality in Thailand. Because we also find that FDI raises the wages for both skilled and low-skilled workers, our findings should help to move the debate from impact (does FDI contribute to growth and development?) to appropriate policies to utilize FDI (how can we make FDI work for all?). We suggest that the education system in Thailand has not been sufficiently oriented to maximize the benefits from FDI. Countries wanting to develop on the basis of FDI should invest sufficient resources in good quality and appropriate human resources, or otherwise face the possibility that growth coincides with rising wage inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Dirk Te Velde & Oliver Morrissey, 2004. "Foreign Direct Investment, Skills And Wage Inequality In East Asia," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 348-369.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjapxx:v:9:y:2004:i:3:p:348-369
    DOI: 10.1080/1354786042000272991
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    Cited by:

    1. Nathalie Chusseau & Joël Hellier, 2013. "Inequality in Emerging Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Joël Hellier & Nathalie Chusseau (ed.), Growing Income Inequalities, chapter 2, pages 48-75, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Niaz Morshed & Mohammad Razib Hossain, 2022. "Causality analysis of the determinants of FDI in Bangladesh: fresh evidence from VAR, VECM and Granger causality approach," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(7), pages 1-28, July.
    3. Dao Thi Hong Nguyen, 2021. "Are local workers better‐off from foreign presence? A firm‐level panel data analysis of a service industry," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 276-294, April.
    4. Sera Linardi & Nita Rudra, 2015. "Globalization and Redistribution Towards the Poor in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from India," Artefactual Field Experiments 00399, The Field Experiments Website.
    5. Thi Mai Hoai Bui & Xuan Vinh Vo & Duy Tung Bui, 2018. "Gender inequality and FDI: empirical evidence from developing Asia–Pacific countries," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(3), pages 393-416, December.
    6. Yin-Chi Wang & Ping Wang & Chong Yip & Pei-Ju Liao, 2017. "Educational Choice, Rural-urban Migration and Economic Development: The Role of Zhaosheng in China," 2017 Meeting Papers 738, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. J. Eduardo Ibarra‐Olivo & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2022. "FDI and the growing wage gap in Mexican municipalities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(6), pages 1411-1439, December.
    8. Nuno Torres & Óscar Afonso & Isabel Soares, 2017. "Manufacturing Skill-biased Wage Inequality, Natural Resources and Institutions," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 1-29, November.
    9. En‐Ze Wang & Chien‐Chiang Lee, 2023. "Foreign direct investment, income inequality and country risk," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 2415-2435, July.
    10. Helena Maria Ferreira Rêgo & Celeste Amorim Varum & Anabela Carneiro, 2010. "Empresas Estrangeiras e Capital Humano nos Serviços Intensivos em Conhecimento," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 32, pages 06-21, December.
    11. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Laslopova, Lubica & Zeynalova, Olesia, 2020. "Skilled and Unskilled Labor Are Less Substitutable than Commonly Thought," EconStor Preprints 223060, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    12. Wilson, E. J. & Jayanthakumaran, K. & Verma, R., 2012. "Demographics, Labor Mobility, and Productivity," ADBI Working Papers 387, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    13. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Laslopova, Lubica & Zeynalova, Olesia, 2020. "The Elasticity of Substitution between Skilled and Unskilled Labor: A Meta-Analysis," MPRA Paper 102598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Suanes, Macarena, 2016. "Foreign direct investment and income inequality in Latin America: a sectoral analysis," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    15. Pei-Ju Liao & Ping Wang & Yin-Chi Wang & Chong K. Yip, 2022. "Educational choice, rural–urban migration and economic development," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 74(1), pages 1-67, July.
    16. Kashif MUNIR & Maryam SULTAN, 2017. "Macroeconomic determinants of income inequality in India and Pakistan," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(4(613), W), pages 109-120, Winter.
    17. Juan A. Bogliaccini & Patrick J. W. Egan, 2017. "Foreign direct investment and inequality in developing countries: Does sector matter?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 209-236, November.
    18. Scott R. Sanders & David L. Brown, 2014. "Escaping Poverty in Post‐Socialist Vietnam: Does Place Matter?," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(4), pages 332-353, December.
    19. J. Eduardo Ibarra-Olivo & Thomas Neise & Moritz Breul & Jöran Wrana, 2024. "FDI and human capital development: a tale of two Southeast Asian economies," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(3), pages 314-336, September.
    20. Syeda Tamkeen Fatima & Abdul Qayyum Khan, 2018. "Foreign direct investment and its impact on real wages: evidence from Turkish micro-level data," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 732-749, November.
    21. Jayanthakumaran, Kankesu & Sangkaew, Piyapong & O’Brien, Martin, 2013. "Trade liberalisation and manufacturing wage premiums: Evidence from Thailand," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 15-23.
    22. Aurora A. C. Teixeira & Ana Sofia Loureiro, 2019. "FDI, income inequality and poverty: a time series analysis of Portugal, 1973–2016," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 18(3), pages 203-249, October.
    23. Attakrit Leckcivilize, 2015. "Does the minimum wage reduce wage inequality? Evidence from Thailand," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-23, December.
    24. Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat & Lusi Liao, 2022. "Brain over Brawn: Job Polarization, Structural Change, and Skill Prices," PIER Discussion Papers 189, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.

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