The effects of international trade on employment: heterogeneity among 2-digit ISIC manufacturing industries

Abstract

Most studies of the relationship between international trade and the labour market have been at an aggregate level. If the effects of trade differ among the component firms and disaggregate-level industries on which such studies are based, then the aggregate-level results may tell us little about the partial-equilibrium adjustment of employment to changes in international trade. This study shows that the effects of trade on employment can differ among two-digit ISIC manufacturing industries, and suggests that theoretically more sophisticated disaggregate-level studies may enhance our understanding of the effects of international trade on the labour market.