Essays on the impact of globalization on labor markets.
Item
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Title
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Essays on the impact of globalization on labor markets.
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Identifier
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AAI3127926
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identifier
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3127926
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Creator
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Tanaka, Iwao.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Zadia Feliciano
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Date
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2004
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Economics, General | Economics, Labor
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Abstract
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My dissertation is motivated to illuminate the impact of globalization on the industry-level labor market outcomes. In particular, I focus on the industry-specific real effective exchange rate (REER) and vertical integration in East Asia, and their effects on Japanese manufacturing employment and wages. I also consider the role of international trade in the inter-industry wage differentials (IIWD) in U.S. manufacturing. The thesis consists of three essays.;The first essay examines how Japanese manufacturing industries with large stock of vertical foreign direct investment (VFDI) adjust employment and wages in response to the industry-specific REER. Using a panel of Japanese manufacturing industries for the years from 1988 to 2000, I find that an increase in the industry-specific BEER is associated with a decrease in employment. Industries with larger amounts of VFDI in low income countries experience larger employment losses but those with larger amounts of VFDI in high income countries experience smaller reduction in employment. I also find that real yen appreciation increases the wage gap between skilled and unskilled Japanese male workers.;The second essay investigates the determinants of vertical integration associated with the relation-specific investment (RSI). For high-skill industries, vertical integration increases where the contracting environment is not favorable. This would suggest that foreign affiliates are not necessarily responsible for production requiring the RSI and import skilled inputs from Japan. Therefore, the "demand crisis" facing keiretsu firms in Japan is not necessarily related to an expansion of vertical integration in those industries, but may be likely linked with outsourcing.;The third essay attempts to explain how international trade affects the U.S. manufacturing IIWD. Using the Current Population Survey, I find that net export influences the IIWD for some industries. The data show that there is a positive export-wage premium, and that workers switching from importing industries to exporting industries increase their wages. My switchers sample reveals that the unobserved ability hypothesis is preferred to the efficiency wage hypothesis. Thus, the IIWD should be partly explained by self-selection of industry switchers whose ability is not observed. An industry dynamics approach is also considered to explain how exporting industries pay higher wages.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
