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Estimating the Impact of Trade and Offshoring on American Workers using the Current Population Surveys

Author

Listed:
  • Avraham Ebenstein

    (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Ann Harrison

    (University of Pennsylvania and NBER)

  • Margaret McMillan

    (Tufts University and NBER)

  • Shannon Phillips

    (Boston College)

Abstract

We link industry-level data on trade and offshoring with individual-level worker data from the Current Population Surveys from 1984 to 2002. We find that occupational exposure to globalization is associated with significant wage effects, while industry exposure has no significant impact. We present evidence that globalization has put downward pressure on worker wages through the reallocation of workers away from higher-wage manufacturing jobs into other sectors and other occupations. Using a panel of workers, we find that occupation switching due to trade led to real wage losses of 12 to 17 percentage points. © 2014 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Suggested Citation

  • Avraham Ebenstein & Ann Harrison & Margaret McMillan & Shannon Phillips, 2014. "Estimating the Impact of Trade and Offshoring on American Workers using the Current Population Surveys," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(4), pages 581-595, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:96:y:2014:i:4:p:581-595
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trade; offshoring; globalization; wages; industry exposure; real wage loss;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General

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