Impact of Import Competition

What are the impacts of globalisation and technological change on labour markets and on the broader economy? This is the main research focus of David Dorn’s recent work. He has analysed the effects of import competition from China on workers in import-exposed industries in the United States and on local labour markets that are specialised in these industries. Import competition causes a reallocation of workers across firms, industries and sectors, and is associated with relative declines in employment and wages, and increases in public transfer receipts for trade-exposed workers and labour markets.

During his stay at CESifo in the first half of March, Mr Dorn continued his work on these topics.

David Dorn is an Associate Professor of Economics at the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies (CEMFI) in Madrid, Spain. He holds a Doctorate from the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, and has been a Visiting Professor of Economics at Harvard University as well as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Boston University.

He is co-author of several recent articles in the American Economic Review: “Return of the Solow Paradox? IT, Productivity and Employment in U.S. Manufacturing”, “The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the U.S.”, “The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the US Labor Market”, “The Geography of Trade and Technology Shocks in the United States” and “This Job Is ‘Getting Old:’ Measuring Changes in Job Opportunities Using Occupational Age Structure”. He also co-authored the CESifo Working Paper No. 1542, “Early Retirement: Free Choice or Forced Decision”.