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Services Trade and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Italian Firms

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  • Omar Bamieh
  • Francesco Bripi
  • Matteo Fiorini

Abstract

The paper investigates the relationship between services trade performance and employment characteristics in Italian firms. Our analysis is at the micro level and descriptive in nature. We merge micro data on services trade transactions with employment and wage variables at the level of the firm. We find that firms engaged in services trade tend to employ a larger share of managers and white collars and to pay higher average wages. They also exhibit systematically smaller shares of blue collars in their employment structure. These patterns hold qualitatively across all main sectors of firms' affiliation and across sectors of traded services. We find a strong and positive association between services exports and/or imports and total employment. Regression analysis confirms this last finding and shows it is robust to controlling for various confounding heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Omar Bamieh & Francesco Bripi & Matteo Fiorini, 2020. "Services Trade and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Italian Firms," RSCAS Working Papers 2020/39, European University Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2020/39
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    1. Wang, Xuefeng & Liu, Haiyun, 2023. "FDI in services and firm innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    2. Krieger, Bastian & Trottner, Fabian, 2024. "Trade in services and innovation," ZEW Discussion Papers 24-056, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Services trade; Employment; Firm-level data; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

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