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Imports as product and labour market discipline

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  • H. BOULHOL
  • S. DOBBELAERE
  • S. MAIOLI

Abstract

This paper tests the pro-competitive effect of trade in the product and labour markets of UK manufacturing sectors between 1988 and 2003 using a two-stage estimation procedure. In the first stage, we use data on 9820 firms from twenty manufacturing sectors to simultaneously estimate mark-up and workers’ bargaining power parameters according to sector, firm size and period. We find a significant drop in both the mark-up and the workers’ bargaining power in the mid-nineties. In the second stage, we relate our parameters of interest to trade variables. Our results show that imports from developed countries have significantly contributed to the decrease in both mark-ups and workers’ bargaining power.

Suggested Citation

  • H. Boulhol & S. Dobbelaere & S. Maioli, 2007. "Imports as product and labour market discipline," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 07/479, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    • Handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:07/479
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Workers’ bargaining power; mark-ups; pro-competitive effect;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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