International Economic Activities and Skilled Labour Demand : Evidence from Brazil and China
Using two new firm-level datasets, this article investigates the impact of three international economic activities--the use of imported inputs, exports, and foreign direct investment--on skilled labour demand in Brazil and China. We find that Brazilian firms that engage in these activities exhibit a higher skilled labour demand than firms that do not. In contrast, Chinese firms that engage in these activities have a lower skilled labour demand than firms that do not. Thus, international economic activities act as a channel for skill-biased technology diffusion in Brazil but have an effect of specialization according to comparative advantage in unskilled labour-intensive goods in China.
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article biblioteca |
| Language: | EN |
| Published: |
2009
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| Subjects: | Labor Demand J230, Human Capital, Skills, Occupational Choice, Labor Productivity J240, Economic Development: Human Resources, Human Development, Income Distribution, Migration O150, International Linkages to Development, Role of International Organizations O190, Technological Change: Choices and Consequences, Diffusion Processes O330, Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets, Industry Studies, Population P230, Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions: International Trade, Finance, Investment, and Aid P330, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5709 |
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| Summary: | Using two new firm-level datasets, this article investigates the impact of three international economic activities--the use of imported inputs, exports, and foreign direct investment--on skilled labour demand in Brazil and China. We find that Brazilian firms that engage in these activities exhibit a higher skilled labour demand than firms that do not. In contrast, Chinese firms that engage in these activities have a lower skilled labour demand than firms that do not. Thus, international economic activities act as a channel for skill-biased technology diffusion in Brazil but have an effect of specialization according to comparative advantage in unskilled labour-intensive goods in China. |
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