CEMFI

About: CEMFI is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Estimator & Unemployment. The organization has 71 authors who have published 499 publications receiving 46553 citations. The organization is also known as: Center for Monetary and Financial Studies.

The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States

Abstract: We analyze the effect of rising Chinese import competition between 1990 and 2007 on US local labor markets, exploiting cross-market variation in import exposure stemming from initial diffe...

The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the US Labor Market

Abstract: We offer an integrated explanation and empirical analysis of the polarization of U.S. employment and wages between 1980 and 2005, and the concurrent growth of low skill service occupations. We attribute polarization to the interaction between consumer preferences, which favor variety over specialization, and the falling cost of automating routine, codifiable job tasks. Applying a spatial equilibrium model, we derive, test, and confirm four implications of this hypothesis. Local labor markets that were specialized in routine activities differentially adopted information technology, reallocated low skill labor into service occupations (employment polarization), experienced earnings growth at the tails of the distribution (wage polarization), and received inflows of skilled labor.

Making wald tests work for cointegrated VAR systems

Abstract: Wald tests of restrictions on the coefficients of vector autoregressive (VAR) processes are known to have nonstandard asymptotic properties for 1(1) and cointegrated systems of variables. A simple device is proposed which guarantees that Wald tests have asymptotic X2-distributions under general conditions. If the true generation process is a VAR(p) it is proposed to fit a VAR(p+l) to the data and perform a Wald test on the coefficients of the first p lags only. The power properties of the modified tests are studied both analytically and numerically by means of simple illustrative examples.

The productivity advantages of large cities: distinguishing agglomeration from firm selection

Abstract: Firms are more productive on average in larger cities. Two main explanations have been offered: firm selection (larger cities toughen competition, allowing only the most productive to survive) and agglomeration economies (larger cities promote interactions that increase productivity), possibly reinforced by localised natural advantage. To distinguish between them, we nest a generalised version of a tractable firm selection model and a standard model of agglomeration. Stronger selection in larger cities left-truncates the productivity distribution whereas stronger agglomeration right-shifts and dilates the distribution. Using this prediction, French establishment level data, and a new quantile approach, we show that firm selection cannot explain spatial productivity differences. This result holds across sectors, city size thresholds, establishment samples, and area definitions.