We discuss recent empirical research on how globalization has affected income inequality in developing countries. We begin with a discussion of conceptual issues regarding the measurement of globalization and inequality. Next, we present empirical evidence on the evolution of globalization and inequality in several developing countries during the 1980s and 1990s. We then examine the channels through which globalization may have affected inequality discussing theory and evidence in parellel. We conclude with directions for future research.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/nber_w12885.pdf?abstractid=961806&mirid=1&type=2

Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries

The authors discuss recent empirical research on how globalization has affected income inequality in developing countries. They begin with a discussion of conceptual issues regarding the measurement of globalization and inequality. Next, they present empirical evidence on the evolution of globalization and inequality in several developing countries during the 1980s and 1990s. The authors then examine the channels through which globalization may have affected inequality, discussing theory and evidence in parallel. They conclude with directions for future research.

/pdf/distributional-effects-of-globalization-in-developing-1ipn6atmvi.pdf

The Impact of National Characteristics & Technology on the Commodity Composition of Trade in Manufactured Goods

T HIS paper analyzes the changing pattern of comparative advantage in manufactured goods in the process of accumulation of physical and human capital that characterizes economic development. Section I of the paper describes the model to be estimated while section II defines the explanatory variables employed. The empirical results are presented in section III, and the policy implications of the results are analyzed in section IV.

The Changing Pattern of Comparative Advantage in Manufactured Goods

The authors analyze empirical information on the nature and magnitude of, and motivation for, international production sharing in East Asia. To do so, they use a largely untapped source of data on inter- and intra-regional trade in parts and components. Some of their findings: East Asian trade in components is considerably greater than often recognized. Regional global exports of parts and components totaled $178 billion in 1996, and imports of those products about $12 billion less. Components now constitute one-fifth of East Asian exports of manufactures. Imports of components, measured as a share of all manufactures, are growing considerably faster in East Asia than in OECD Europe or North America. The value of East Asian global imports of components rose more than ninefold over the period 1985-96. Almost three-quarters of all East Asian imports of telecommunications equipment are components for further assembly. East Asian global exports of components grew faster then any other major product group over 1984-96, when their exchange increased 15 percent a year (compared with 11 percent for all products ). Although Japanese exports declined slightly in 1997, shipments from most other East Asian countries increased 9 to 16 percent. Why did production sharing expand? Analyses of traditionally revealed comparative advantage use export statistics to determine whether a country has a comparative advantage in the production of a good. The same indices, calculated using import statistics for components, can show whether a country has a comparative advantage in the assembly of a product. Using statistics on component imports, the authors find that: Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan (China)--which are exiting most assembly operations--increased their specialization in the manufacture of components. Assembly operations, which are labor-intensive, tend to migrate to low-wage East Asian countries. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have the broadest and most mature assembly capacity for components. But no East Asian country has developed its domestic assembly operations as much as Mexico, which has a comparative advantage in 70 percent of all component groups. Collectively, East Asian countries are strengthening their comparative advantage in the production of components; the results are mixed for assembly operations.

Production sharing in East Asia : who does what for whom, and why?

Imports of manufactures from less developed countries

Imports of Manufactures from Less Developed Countries

Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 1: Individual Studies

Front matter to "Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 1: Individual Studies"

This first book of a three-volume study examines the way trade policies in developing countries affect the level and composition of employment. There is special emphasis on the effects of import substitution policies that attempt to make a country self-sufficient by producing local substitutes for imports, as compared with policies that further the expansion of imports. Ten countries are studied: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, the Ivory Coast, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay. The contributors to the volume analyze the link between trade strategies and employment within a common framework, and the analyses of trade policy include the level and structure of protection, the relation of trade policy to labor demand, the labor intensiveness of trade, and the extent of distortions in factor markets and their effects on trade.

Hal B. Lary

Papers

Imports of manufactures from less developed countries

Imports of Manufactures from Less Developed Countries

Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 1: Individual Studies

Front matter to "Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 1: Individual Studies"

Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 1