51 research outputs found
Offshoring and relative labor demand from a task perspective
This paper provides new evidence on how offshoring shifts relative labor demand for tasks
at the industry level. A novel theoretical mechanism, based on sorting of heterogeneous workers
into occupations with task dependent offshoring cost, guides estimation. Cost shares of tasks
are linked to offshoring in a panel estimation using German data for 1998-2007. It is shown that
offshoring shifts home country relative labor demand towards more complex tasks with higher
relocation cost. This demand shift holds when controlling for an industryâs skill composition
and is particularly strong for offshoring to non-OECD countries
Readdressing the trade effect of the Euro: Allowing for currency misalignment
We know that euro-area member countries have absorbed asymmetric shocks in ways that are inconsistent with a common nominal anchor. Based on a reformulation of the gravity model that allows for such bilateral misalignment, we disentangle the conventional trade cost channel and trade effects deriving from 'implicit currency misalignment'. Econometric estimation reveals that the currency misalignment channel exerts a significant trade effect on bilateral exports. We retrieve country specific estimates of the euro effect on trade based on misalignment. This reveals asymmetric trade effects and heterogeneous outlooks across countries for the costs and benefits from adopting the euro. --Euro,gravity model,exchange rates,purchasing power parity,trade imbalances
The labour share of income : heterogeneous causes for parallel movements?
The aim of this paper is to take a structured approach at estimating the coefficients of factors explaining movements of the labour share across countries. In particular, we focus on proper dynamic specification and test the validity of the homogeneity assumption of slope coefficients frequently implied in previous studies. We employ fixed effect estimators as well as pooled mean group and mean group estimators, the latter in a dynamic heterogeneous panel framework. We find support for a dynamic estimation setup and derive statements regarding the homogeneity assumption with respect to the three most prominent explanatory variables in the literature: the capital-output ratio, total factor productivity and trade openness. In addition, we take account of different institutional arrangements across countries
Offshoring and labor income risk
This paper analyzes the impact increased offshoring has on labor income risk.
It is therefore distinct from a large number of studies explaining the level effects
of globalization on the labor market in that it takes a look at effects on second
moments, i.e. the variance of incomes. It provides an assessment that directly connects
labor income risk and offshoring trends at the sector level. Importantly, we
distinguish between transitory and permanent shocks to individual income. Permanent
income risk is defined as variance of shocks to income that do not fade out over
time and are assumed to be not self-insurable. It thus has a particular relevance
for individual welfare. Our findings suggest that offshoring tends to lower permanent
income risk. This effect is particularly strong for offshoring to low-income
destinations. Hence, there could be potential welfare gains when domestic firms
increasingly offshore production to foreign countries
Unemployment and labor reallocation in Europe
We ask whether sectoral shocks and the subsequent labor reallocation are responsible
for unemployment within selected European economies. Our measure of
sectoral labor reallocation is adjusted for aggregate influences and the remaining
variation is linked to unemployment in country specific dynamic models. For Spain,
the ADL-model estimation reveals a significant impact of sectoral reallocation on
unemployment that goes beyond usual business cycle patterns. In Italy, there is
weaker yet detectable evidence for this mechanism. In Ireland, Portugal and France,
no significant influence of sector level shocks on unemployment is found. The results
emphasize the potential structural supply side policies have for reducing unemployment
in Spain
Trade and technology: new evidence on the productivity sorting of firms
Using a unique German firm-level data set, we provide empirical evidence
for a productivity sorting along two dimensions: international activity and
technology choice. We consider domestic and exporting firms and measure
technology choice by firmsâ actual use of advanced information technology
(IT). For manufacturing firms, the observed sorting pattern is consistent
with recent theories of heterogeneous firms and technology choice: Only the
relatively more productive ones among internationally active firms are also
highly technology intensive. For service sector firms we find similar evidence,
yet the results seem to depend on the trade cost of certain services. In general,
recent theoretical advances regarding trade and technology adoption thus
seem to better fit the manufacturing sector
Readdressing the trade effect of the Euro : allowing for currency misalignment
We know that euro-area member countries have absorbed asymmetric shocks in ways that are inconsistent with a common nominal anchor. Based on a reformulation of the gravity model that allows for such bilateral misalignment, we disentangle the conventional trade cost channel and trade effects deriving from âimplicit currency misalignmentâ. Econometric estimation reveals that the currency misalignment channel exerts a significant trade effect on bilateral exports. We retrieve country specific estimates of the euro effect on trade based on misalignment. This reveals asymmetric trade effects and heterogeneous outlooks across countries for the costs and benefits from adopting the euro
Trade, Tasks, and Training: The Effect of Offshoring on Individual Skill Upgrading
We offer a theoretical explanation and empirical evidence for a positive link between increased offshoring and individual skill upgrading. Skill upgrading takes the form of on-the-job training, complementing the existing literature, which mainly focuses on the retraining of workers after a direct job displacement through offshoring. To establish a link between offshoring and on-the-job training, we introduce an individual skill upgrading margin into the small-open-economy version of the Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg (2008) model of offshoring. In our model offshoring, by scaling up workersâ wages, creates previously unexploited skill upgrading possibilities and, thus, leads to more on-the-job training. Using data from German manufacturing, we find strong empirical support for the prediction that increased offshoring is positively related to individual on-the-job training participation
The healthy green living room at oneâs doorstep? Use and perception of residential greenery in Berlin, Germany
Though the often semi-public green spaces of the residential environment, usually created during the building of the houses, are of a pivotal importance for less-mobile people, after-work recreation and healthy development of children, there has been relatively little research on them. Using face-to-face questionnaires, we explored residentsâ use and perceptions of local greenery in eight disadvantaged neighborhoods of Berlin that are exposed to high loads of environmental stressors and belonging to four relevant building types of Central European cities. We find that the greenery of housing complexes of modernism is highly appreciated by local residents; that residents visit parks not more often than once a week but benefit daily from residential greenery; that passive use (enjoying the sun, fresh air) dominates active (meeting neighbors, exercising); that residents visit parks once per week but benefit daily from residential greenery; that the baseline for judgement differs among respondents with different perspectives on the city (e.g. car drivers vs. users of public transport; active vs. passive users); and that residents are highly attached to place but not to their neighbors. Co-creative involvement of residents in the design and management of the residential greenery in order to encourage social contacts and neighborâs physical activity on the doorstep can bring about change, making residential greenery the social tissue of âdisadvantagedâ neighborhoods.Peer Reviewe
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