Labor markets, foregin investment and trade policy reform

Harrison, Ann and Revenga, Ana (1997): Labor markets, foregin investment and trade policy reform. Published in: Trade policy reform: lessons and implications (1998): pp. 247-276.

Abstract

This chapter reviews the available evidence on the linkages between trade reform, labor markets, and FDI. We begin by drawing on studies of sixteen countries that underwent trade reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. These sixteen countries were chosen because of their inclusion in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-World Bank Trade Expansion Program (YEP). Wherever possible, we supplement these studies with additional studies and empirical evidence. The evidence suggests that the employment and wage effects of trade reforms are generally small. The only exceptions are in the transitional econo¬mies, such as Czechoslovakia, Mongolia, Poland, and Romania, where trade reforms were accompanied by a restructuring of the entire economy. In these countries, however, it is difficult to distinguish the effects of trade reform from the overall transformation of the economy.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: trade reform; labor markets; foreign investment
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F16 - Trade and Labor Market Interactions; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F13 - Trade Policy ; International Trade Organizations; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F23 - Multinational Firms ; International Business; F - International Economics > F1 - Trade

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