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Import Competition, Formalization, and the Role of Contract Labor

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  • Chakraborty, Pavel

    (Lancaster University)

  • Singh, Rahul

    (Ahmedabad University)

  • Soundararajan, Vidhya

    (Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay)

Abstract

Does higher import competition increase formalization and aggregate productivity? Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation from Chinese imports, we provide empirical causal evidence that higher imports increases the share of formal manufacturing enterprise employment in India. This formal share increase is both due to the rise in formal-enterprise employment driven by the high productivity firms, and a fall in informal-enterprise employment. The labor reallocation is enabled by the formal firms' hiring of contract workers, who do not carry stringent string costs. Overall, Chinese import competition increased formal sector employment share by 3.7 percentage points, and aggregate labor productivity by 2.87%, between 2000-2001 and 2005-2006.

Suggested Citation

  • Chakraborty, Pavel & Singh, Rahul & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2022. "Import Competition, Formalization, and the Role of Contract Labor," IZA Discussion Papers 15760, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15760
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    import competition; formal sector employment; informality; contract workers; Chinese imports; reallocation; misallocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor

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