Short and Long-Run Labor Market Effects of Developing Country Exports : Evidence from Bangladesh

Robertson, Raymond ; Kokas, Deeksha ; Cardozo, Diego ; Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: LABOR MARKET;    APPAREL EXPORTS;    WAGE INEQUALITY;    STOLPER-SAMUELSON;    MULTI-FIBRE ARRANGEMENT;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-9176
RP-ID  :  WPS9176

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper studies how a positive exportshock -- the sharp increase in garment-sector exports thatbegan at the end of the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) --spread through Bangladesh's labor markets. Although theend of the MFA was arguably exogenous to Bangladesh, theauthors instrument export demand with OECD imports to ensureidentification. The paper compares estimates of the locallabor market effects (wages and informality) and estimatesfrom wage equations that reflect the predictions fromlong-run, general-equilibrium neoclassical trade theory. Asin other studies, this paper finds that the export shock waslocalized both in terms of sector and geography. Wagesincreased and informality decreased in sub-districts moreexposed to the export shock. Unlike in other studies, theselocal labor market effects dissipate quickly. Furthermore,Bangladesh's export shock was sector specific, limitedpredominantly to the female-intensive garment and textilesector. The paper shows that, following the increase inexports of the female-intensive good, the male-female wagegap closes considerably throughout the country -- not justin the apparel sector. In relatively small Bangladesh, thenational labor market seems to be more integrated comparedto larger countries studied, possibly suggesting that laboradjustment costs are lower in smaller countries.