2008/05 | LEM Working Paper Series | |
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Exporters, Importers and Two-way traders: The links between internationalization, skills and wage |
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Francesco Serti, Chiara Tomasi, Antonello Zanfei |
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Keywords | ||
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heterogeneous firms; exports; imports; wage inequality; skills
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JEL Classifications | ||
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F10, F16, J21
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Abstract | ||
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How do trade activities affect firms' employment and wages structures?
Using firm level data on Italian manufacturing firms, this paper adds
to the existing literature, by assessing how the degree of involvement
in international trade impacts on workforce composition, earning
levels and wage inequality. We differentiate firms involved in both
trading activities - namely two-way traders - from firms that only
export, and from those that only import. We show that two-way traders
have a higher propensity to employ non-production workers, exhibit
significant wage gaps, but also pay higher wages for both production
and non production workers, relative to non international- ized firms
and to firms which are involved only in either export or import. The
paper also looks at how the wages and the skill structure of the
trading firms change with the country of destination and origin and
with the firms' sectoral and geographical diversification.
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Downloads | ||
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