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The increased range and quality of China's exports is a major ongoing development in the international economy with potentially far-reaching effects. In this paper, on top of the direct effects of increased imports from China studied in previous research, we also measure the indirect labour market effects stemming from increased export competition in third markets. Our findings, based on matched employer-employee data of Portugal covering the 1991-2008 period, indicate that workers' earnings and employment are significantly negatively affected by China's competition, but only through the indirect 'market-stealing' channel. In contrast to evidence for other countries, the direct effects of Chinese import competition are mostly non-significant. The results are robust to a number of checks and also highlight particular groups more affected by indirect competition, including women, older and less educated workers, and workers in domestic firms.

Import competition from low-wage countries can worsen labor market conditions in high-income countries and undermine the sustainability of free international trade. We examine the effect of increasing manufacturing imports from China on manufacturing employment and wage earnings distribution in Sweden by employing a two-stage least squares estimation method. The empirical results indicate that, except for the transportation sector, the effect of increasing import exposure to China on manufacturing and non-manufacturing employment growth is statistically insignificant. Regarding earnings distribution, we find that the earnings growth of low-wage workers in the manufacturing sector is not significantly influenced by an increase in Chinese imports. However, wage earners at the median level or above are positively impacted by trade shocks from China. These findings have implications for seeking policy alternatives that can enhance the sustainability of the international trade order.

We analyze how local labor markets in Mexico adjusted in response to an increase in Chinese import competition between 1998 and 2013. We exploit the spatial variation in import exposure arising from initial differences in industry specialization. We found that the adjustment took various forms: a decline in the number of wage employees, the substitution of some wage employees by contract workers, and the substitution of formally contracted employees by informally contracted ones. The reduction in employment levels was accompanied by an increase in the population that exited the labor force. The negative employment impact was three times more severe on production workers than on nonproduction workers, indicating that workers with lower skills were more severely affected. Overall, we find significant job losses to the order of 7.6% of the working-age population.

This paper uses the sudden surge in Chinese competition faced by Brazil's manufacturers in the 2000s to revisit the findings from the literature on how productivity, innovation, and employment were impacted by the Great Liberalizationa period of massive trade opening in the early 1990s in Latin America. Using manufacturing firm-level data and sectoral variation of Chinese competition, we focus on the most intense period of the shock -2000 to 2013- and on its procompetitive and employment effects. The results reinforce some of the key findings of the earlier literature, notably the positive, procompetitive effect of trade on total factor productivity (TFP). However, as in the 1990s, these gains do not seem to have been robust enough to prevent the countrys TFP performance from being dismal. Likewise, they seem to be more consistent with level effects than growth effects. Inconclusive results on innovation also seem to point in this direction. The estimated effects on employment point to a relatively small negative shock, not unlike that of the early 1990s, that was centered on low-skilled labor and was consistent with the countrys relative abundance of natural resources. Overall, the results seem to underline the limits of trade policy in boosting employment and long-term productivity growth. Policymakers should manage their expectations accordingly.

This paper investigates the effect of import competition on employment and wages in the 18 sectors of the Turkish manufacturing industry using panel data methodology over the 2003-2011 period. The industry import unit value indexes are used in order to measure import competition for the industries. The estimation results of two stages squares method suggest that changes in import values have a significant effect on employment in the sectors of manufacturing industry. However, this study can not find a significant relationship between import competition and industry wages.

This paper examines the impact of U.S. market access on local labor markets in a developing country, Vietnam. The study finds that following the implementation of the Vietnam–United States bilateral trade agreement in December 2001, manufacturing employment increased in provinces that were more exposed to U.S. tariff cuts. In those provinces, employment also increased in many service sectors, reflecting strong spillovers of job gains. The new job opportunities have attracted labor from agriculture, thus reducing agricultural employment. The paper examines three possible channels of job gain spillovers, namely, demand, production, and real estate. Although there is evidence for all three channels, the demand channel is the most important.

This study uses firm level data on 19 Sub-Saharan Africa countries between 2004 and 2016 to provide a rigorous analysis on the impact of Chinese import competition on productivity, skills, and performance of firms., We measure import competition and ports accessibility at the city-industry level to identify the relevance of firms’ location in determining the impact of Chinese imports competition. To address endogeneity concerns, a time-varying instrument for Chinese imports based on the interaction between an exogenous geographic characteristic and a shock in transportation technology is developed. The results show that imports competition has a positive impact on firm performance, mainly in terms of productivity catch-up and skills upgrading. Of particular interest is the finding that the effects of import competition from China are stronger for more remote firms that have lower port accessibility, an indication that Chinese imports in remote areas improves productivity of laggard firms, employment, and intensity of skilled workers. Our findings indicate that African firms are improving their performance as a consequence of the higher Chinese import intensity, mainly through direct competition and the use of higher quality inputs of production sourced from China.

The thesis consists of three empirical essays on the topics of self-employment, happiness and international trade. Essay 1 studies how immigrant self-employment entry is affected by the local business cycle in Sweden. Using the unemployment rate at the local labour market level as a proxy for the local business cycle, our study shows that the self-employment entry behaviour for native men and immigrant men is negatively affected by the unemployment rate, except for immigrants from Middle East. However, such a negative effect is quantitatively weaker among the non-European immigrants. Further, the result shows that immigrants from the Middle East are positively affected by the unemployment rate, meaning they are more likely to be pushed into self-employment in recessions. For women, we also find the unemployment rate has a negative impact on the self-employment decision of native women and immigrant women, except for the Middle East group. However, compared with men, the quantitative size of the unemployment rate effect on self-employment is smaller among women, implying the less important role of business cycle in determining females’ entry into self-employment. Essay 2 investigates the non-pecuniary return of self-employment in China. The results show that the life satisfaction of self-employed men is significantly higher than that of wage-employed men; the life satisfaction of self-employed women is not statistically significant different from that of wage-employed women. Moreover, we show that the life satisfaction of self-employed men in the informal sector is significantly higher than that of wage-employed men in the formal sector. The life satisfaction of wage-employed men in the informal sector is not significantly different from that of wage-employed men in the formal sector. For women, we find that there is no significant life satisfaction disparity between workers in the formal and informal sector. Finally, our job satisfaction data also concludes that self-employment in China is not inferior to wage employment. Essay 3 evaluates how Swedish manufacturing employment is affected by the increasing import competition from China. The results show that the growth of manufacturing employment is not statistically significant affected by the increasing import competition from China. Moreover, in general, the increasing import exposure from China does not significantly affect the employment growth of non-manufacturing sector either. Regarding the earnings, the analysis shows that the low wage earners in the manufacturing sector is not significantly affected by the increasing import penetration from China while median and high wage earners are positively affected.

The thesis consists of three empirical essays on the topics of self-employment, happiness and international trade. Essay 1 studies how immigrant self-employment entry is affected by the local business cycle in Sweden. Using the unemployment rate at the local labour market level as a proxy for the local business cycle, our study shows that the self-employment entry behaviour for native men and immigrant men is negatively affected by the unemployment rate, except for immigrants from Middle East. However, such a negative effect is quantitatively weaker among the non-European immigrants. Further, the result shows that immigrants from the Middle East are positively affected by the unemployment rate, meaning they are more likely to be pushed into self-employment in recessions. For women, we also find the unemployment rate has a negative impact on the self-employment decision of native women and immigrant women, except for the Middle East group. However, compared with men, the quantitative size of the unemployment rate effect on self-employment is smaller among women, implying the less important role of business cycle in determining females’ entry into self-employment. Essay 2 investigates the non-pecuniary return of self-employment in China. The results show that the life satisfaction of self-employed men is significantly higher than that of wage-employed men; the life satisfaction of self-employed women is not statistically significant different from that of wage-employed women. Moreover, we show that the life satisfaction of self-employed men in the informal sector is significantly higher than that of wage-employed men in the formal sector. The life satisfaction of wage-employed men in the informal sector is not significantly different from that of wage-employed men in the formal sector. For women, we find that there is no significant life satisfaction disparity between workers in the formal and informal sector. Finally, our job satisfaction data also concludes that self-employment in China is not inferior to wage employment. Essay 3 evaluates how Swedish manufacturing employment is affected by the increasing import competition from China. The results show that the growth of manufacturing employment is not statistically significant affected by the increasing import competition from China. Moreover, in general, the increasing import exposure from China does not significantly affect the employment growth of non-manufacturing sector either. Regarding the earnings, the analysis shows that the low wage earners in the manufacturing sector is not significantly affected by the increasing import penetration from China while median and high wage earners are positively affected.

This study considers for the first time the role of rising import competition on employment in Vietnam. Using a time differenced and instrumental variables approach, our study shows that import competition results in employment contraction. Firms operating in industries that face greater import competition have reduced employment. We also find strong evidence of a negative impact of import competition for small and very small firms, as well as in the period before Vietnam’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. Our results also reveal that previous studies at the industry-level can provide biased estimates because of not controlling for the heterogeneity of firm characteristics.

We analyse the effects of imports on employment and earnings by distinguishing between import competition in final products and firms' use of imports in production (offshoring). We use Finnish worker-firm data merged with product-level trade data. We focus on Chinese imports and instrument them by changes in China's share of world exports to other EU countries. Both types of importing increase the job loss risk for all workers and, in particular, for workers in production occupations. An increase in import competition has larger negative effects than an increase in offshoring. Production workers suffer the largest earnings losses, while for high- skilled workers the wage-effect is positive.

This paper examines the cross-country income and welfare consequences of trade-induced human capital (dis-)accumulation. The model is based on heterogeneous workers who make educational decisions in the presence of complete markets. When such heterogeneous workers invest in schooling, high type agents earn a surplus from their investment. In the presence of cross-country differences in skill-augmenting technology, trade shifts this surplus to rich countries that can use skills more efficiently. Thus, while the static gains from trade may lead to convergence, the dynamic gains from trade occur to initially rich countries, thus leading to cross-country divergence of income and welfare. The second part of the paper endogenizes world prices, documenting that as trade liberalization concentrates skills in countries with a high level of skill augmenting technology, it thereby increases the effective global supply of skilled labor. Despite the resulting decline in the price of skill-intensive goods, trade is shown to be skill-biased.

Industry affiliation provides an important channel through which trade liberalization can affect worker earnings and wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. This empirical study of the impact of the 1988-94 trade liberalization in Brazil on the industry wage structure suggests that although industry affiliation is an important component of worker earnings, the structure of industry wage premiums is relatively stable over time. There is no statistical association between changes in industry wage premiums and changes in trade policy or between industry-specific skill premiums to university graduates and trade policy. Thus trade liberalization in Brazil did not significantly contribute to increased wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers through changes in industry wage premiums. The difference between these results and those obtained for other countries (such as Colombia and Mexico) provides fruitful ground for studying the conditions under which trade reforms do not have an adverse effect on industry wage differentials

Wir untersuchen die Auswirkungen des beispiellosen Anstiegs des internationalen Handels zwischen Deutschland und dem Osten - China und Osteuropa - im Zeitraum 1988-2008 auf lokale Arbeitsmärkte in Deutschland. Anhand von administrativen Daten nutzen wir die regionale Variation der Industriestruktur und verwenden Handelsströme anderer Industriestaaten als Instrumente für die regionale Betroffenheit vom Außenhandel. Wir stellen fest, dass der Aufstieg des Ostens in der Weltwirtschaft mit substantiellen Beschäftigungsverlusten in jenen Regionen einhergeht, welche auf Industriebranchen mit starker Konkurrenz durch Importe spezialisiert sind. Regionen, welche dagegen auf exportorientierte Branchen spezialisiert sind, erlebten jedoch stärkeren Beschäftigungszuwachs und eine Verringerung der Arbeitslosigkeit. Bundesweit ergibt sich ein rechnerischer Gesamteffekt von etwa 493.000 zusätzlichen Jobs, welcher dazu beigetragen haben könnte, den Industriesektor in Deutschland zu erhalten. Wir führen zusätzlich eine Untersuchung auf der Beschäftigtenebene durch und finden Belege dafür, dass Handel einen stabilisierenden Gesamteffekt auf individuelle Beschäftigungsverhältnisse hat. We analyze the effects of the unprecedented rise in trade between Germany and the East - China and Eastern Europe - in the period 1988-2008 on German local labor markets. Using detailed administrative data, we exploit the cross-regional variation in initial industry structures and use trade flows of other high-income countries as instruments for regional import and export exposure. We find that the rise of the East in the world economy caused substantial job losses in German regions specialized in import-competing industries, both in manufacturing and beyond. Regions specialized in export-oriented industries, however, experienced even stronger employment gains and lower unemployment. In the aggregate, we estimate that this trade integration has caused some 493,000 additional jobs in the economy and contributed to retaining the manufacturing sector in Germany. We also conduct our analysis at the individual worker level, and find that trade had a stabilizing overall effect on employment relationships.

For many in Latin America, the increasing participation of China and India in international markets is seen as a looming shadow of two mighty giants on the region's manufacturing sector. Are they really mighty giants when it comes to their impact on manufacturing employment? This paper attempts to answer this question by estimating the effects of trade with China and India on Argentina's industrial employment. We use a dynamic econometric model and industry level data to estimate the effects of trade with China and India on the level of employment in Argentina's manufacturing sector. Results suggest that trade with China and India only had a small negative effect on industrial employment, even during the swift trade liberalization of the 1990s.

For many in Latin America, the increasing participation of China and India in international markets is seen as a looming shadow of two ‘mighty giants’ on the region’s manufacturing sector. Are they really mighty giants when it comes to their impact on manufacturing employment? This paper attempts to answer this question estimating the effects of trade with China and India on Argentina’s industrial employment. We use a dynamic econometric model and industry level data to estimate the effects of trade with China and India on the level of employment in Argentina’s manufacturing sector. Results suggest that trade with China and India only had a small negative effect on industrial employment, even in a period of swift trade liberalization like the nineties.

This paper investigates the effect of import competition on employment and wages in the Swedish manufacturing sector during 1975-93. Labour is divided into production and non-production workers respectively. The results show that import competition had a significant negative effect on the employment of both labour groups. The effect was larger for non-production workers than for production workers. Non-production worker real wages were not affected at all by import competition, while it had a negative effect on production worker real wages. Technological change had a significant negative effect on employment for both labour groups, and a positive effect on the real wage for non-production workers.