Trade and inequality: The role of economists
01 Jan 2008-
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that economists often tell the public that its preferred policy path will not have the intended effect, and may actually lead to outcomes that are the opposite of what is intended.
Abstract: Economists have come to play an enormously important role in public policy debates. There use of their expertise to effectively act as priests, telling the less informed public what the impact of their various policy proposals will be on the economy’s future performance. Economists often tell the public that its preferred policy path will not have the intended effect, and may actually lead to outcomes that are the opposite of what is intended.
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TL;DR: This article found that the supply of educated workers appears weakly responsive to short-term wage signals and moderately responsive to long-term employment conditions, and that failure to respond rapidly to changes in labour demand may be one factor driving inequality in wages across occupations and in the aggregate economy.
Abstract: Higher education is considered vital for developing a productive and dynamic labour force to meet the demands of the global economy. How effectively does the US higher education sector respond to labour market signals? We match US postsecondary degree completions from 1984 to 2008 with occupational employment statistics and employ an Instrumental Variable (IV) strategy to examine the supply response to changes in occupation specific demand. The supply of educated workers appears weakly responsive to short-term wage signals and moderately responsive to long-term employment conditions. Analysis reveals a sizeable degree of heterogeneity and lag in the responsiveness across specific occupation–degree pairings. Failure to respond rapidly to changes in labour demand may be one factor driving inequality in wages across occupations and in the aggregate economy. We suggest some simple policy measures to help increase the responsiveness of the higher education sector, both in terms of the output of specific degree...
39 citations
Cites background from "Trade and inequality: The role of e..."
...An analogous argument has been made before, both in trade theory and in debates on skilled immigration in response to occupational cartels (Baker, 2008)....
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...An analogous argument has been made before, both in trade theory and in debates on skilled immigration in response to occupational cartels (Baker, 2008). Policy discussion surrounding the future direction of the US higher education system is often broadly focused. Blinder (2008) makes the case that in order to remain competitive, the education sector should focus on training individuals to provide personal or face-to-face services, because these skill sets will remain valued as the world transitions to freer trade in impersonal and tradable services....
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7 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The nueva globalización comercial modificó el mapa de la industria mundial as discussed by the authors, in particular, en el Sur de la misma manera.
Abstract: La nueva globalizacion comercial modifico el mapa de la industria mundial. El mundo de hoy es diferente del de ayer. El Norte ya no domina al Sur de la misma manera. En el Sur hay grandes heterogeneidades entre los paises mas atrasados, los emergentes asiaticos y latinoamericanos, etc. Algunos paises del Sur han llegado a imponer sus propias reglas de juego. Pero no todas las economias emergentes del Sur tienen la misma capacidad para imponerse, como las de America Latina. Estas se benefician temporalmente del alto crecimiento de Asia, pero experimentan un proceso de desindustrializacion que las debilita. Algunas teorias y herramientas analiticas se han vuelto obsoletas o erroneas, como el enfoque centro-periferia. Paises que ayer pertenecian a la periferia, han adquirido caracteristicas del antiguo centro e incluso ejercen control sobre paises desarrollados.
4 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In the South there are large heterogeneities between developing countries, the emerging Asian and Latin American countries, etc. as mentioned in this paper The new commercial globalization changed the map of the global industry and some countries in the South have come to impose their own rules.
Abstract: The new commercial globalization changed the map of the global industry. Today’s world is different from yesterday. North does not dominate South in the same way. In the South there are large heterogeneities between developing countries, the emerging Asian and Latin American countries, etc. Some countries in the South have come to impose their own rules. However, not all emerging economies in the South have the same capacity prevail, as Latin America. Some Asian countries benefit temporarily from high growth, but experience a process of deindustrialization that weakens them. Some theories and analytical tools have become outdated or inaccurate, such as the center-periphery approach. Countries that yesterday belonged to the periphery have acquired characteristics of the old center and even exercise control over developed countries.
3 citations
Cites background from "Trade and inequality: The role of e..."
...Tasa de crecimiento de las exportaciones baja (6) 0,7 2,4 -1,2 3,1...
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...Tasa de crecimiento del PIB moderada (6) 4,2 4,7 7,9 6,8...
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...3 D. Baker (2008) escribió: “El papel de los economistas en los debates sobre el comercio exterior es especialmente pernicioso pues no hay ningún otro campo en el que hayan sido menos honestos […] han exagerado continuamente los beneficios del libre cambio”....
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19 Nov 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the effect of trade liberalization on GDP growth in emerging Latin-American countries and draw a connection between the growing economic openness and the emergence of new actors, especially Latin-Americans and Asians.
Abstract: Development strategies based on trade liberalization have not produced higher growth rates in emerging Latin-American countries. In fact, this rate has been, in average, lower then it was between 1955 and 1980, a period characterized by high protectionism and low economic openness. The first part of the article evaluates the effect of trade liberalization on GDP growth. The relationship of growth strategies and the changing world order is drawn on a second part. Today’s world is different from the past. In many ways, it is happening now what was unthinkable some time ago: North cannot dominate South as it did before. The very South is deeply heterogeneous: the last developed countries, emerging Asian countries and Latin-American countries are very different and their influences are not the same. Some of those southern countries, mainly the Asian ones, are trying to make their own rules for they are creditors of North’s debts. It is possible now to weigh the relationship between the growing economic openness and the emergence of new actors, especially Latin-Americans and Asians.
Key words: globalization, development strategies, emerging countries.
Classificacao JEL F5; O1; L11
Artigo recebido em maio 2012 e aceito para publicacao em jun. 2012.
2 citations
References
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01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In the United States, the share of imports and exports in America's GDP are only about half of what they were in the United Kingdom thirty years ago as discussed by the authors. And the U.S. economy is not now, and may never be, as dependent on exports as Britain was during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Abstract: WHAT ASPECT OF the American economy has changed most in the twenty-five years since Brookings Papers on Economic Activity first began appearing? If you took a poll of economic journalists, businessmen, or policy intellectuals other than professional economists, globalization-the growing integration of the United States with the world economy-would probably top the list. It is now conventional wisdom in many circles that the growth of world trade and investment has transformed the ground rules for economic policy. Admittedly, many international economists regard the popular conviction that unprecedented globalization has changed everything as considerably exaggerated; Americans are still so taken with the novelty of extensive international trade that they have yet to acquire a sense of perspective about its importance. Even today the shares of imports and exports in America's GDP are only about half of what they were in the United Kingdom thirty years ago; the U.S. economy is not now, and may never be, as dependent on exports as Britain was during the reign of Queen Victoria. Nonetheless, international trade has certainly increased considerably since the 1960s. In 1960 the share of trade-measured as the average of imports and exports of goods and services-in America's GDP was 4.7 percent; in 1994 it was 11.4 percent, an increase of more than 100 percent. While the growth of trade has not been quite as dramatic in other advanced countries, it has also been considerable: the average OECD country had a trade share of 12.5 percent in 1960, 18.6 percent in 1990. And a number of developing countries have seen
1,299 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: A very interesting and useful book as mentioned in this paper presents a wealth of statistical information in a very accessible manner, and it presents a comprehensive statistical portrait of the standard of living of working Americans.
Abstract: "A comprehensive statistical portrait of the standard of living of working AmericansA very interesting and useful book It presents a wealth of statistical information in a very accessible manner" -- Journal of Economic Issues
1,265 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: The authors provide a fresh and comprehensive analysis of theory and empirical evidence on the relationships among trade, employment and wages, and income distribution, and explore the full range of options available to policymakers, including slowing the pace of trade liberalization, providing adjustment assistance to trade-impacted workers, and encouraging investment in human and physical capital.
Abstract: For more than a decade, there have been two important trends in the American economy. The first trend has been toward increasing openness of the economy to the international flows of goods, money, people, and ideas. The second has been very slow or even negative growth in real wages and a widening disparity in the distribution of income, particularly between relatively skilled and unskilled workers. Many observers suspect that these two trends are connected: increasing competition from foreign producers, particularly in low-wage developing countries, may have contributed to stagnation in US real wages and a worsening income distribution. These concerns have led to proposals to slow or reverse the internationalization of the American economy in order to bolster real wages, preserve jobs, and prevent a worsening income distribution. The issue is hotly debated among analysts and policymakers.This study will provide a fresh and comprehensive analysis of theory and empirical evidence on the relationships among trade, employment and wages, and income distribution. It will explore the full range of options available to policymakers, including slowing the pace of trade liberalization, providing adjustment assistance to trade-impacted workers, and encouraging investment in human and physical capital.
219 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The question of why people worry about their own and their children's well-being about the economy has been explored in this paper. But, despite this unequivocally beneficial development, many Americans report dissatisfaction with where the economy seems to be headed.
Abstract: Excerpt] Yet, despite this unequivocally beneficial development, many Americans report dissatisfaction with where the economy seems to be headed, and many worry about their own and their children’s well-being. These concerns have led some policy makers and economists to ask: why aren’t people happier about the economy? The question seems reasonable to those who follow the top-line numbers of the economy, such as the growth of the total economy (e.g. gross domestic product), the stock market, or corporate profits. The question is easily answered, however, for those who follow and report on the data that fill the chapters of this book.
211 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: The authors analyzes the relationship among trade, employment and wages, and income distribution in America and explores the options available to policy-makers, including slowing the pace of trade liberalization and providing adjustment assistance to trade-impacted workers.
Abstract: This study analyzes the relationships among trade, employment and wages, and income distribution in America. It explores the options available to policy-makers, including slowing the pace of trade liberalization and providing adjustment assistance to trade-impacted workers.
98 citations