Export product quality and wage gap-research based on industry-level data in China

Abstract

Abstract: This paper uses the micro-trade database of BACI-HS02 in CEPII, and uses the "quality-adjustment" price method to measure the quality of export products at the Chinese industry level. The relevant data of 22 sub-sectors in manufacturing industry from 2007 to 2016 were selected. With the OLS method and the differential GMM model, the impact of export product quality on wage gap was analyzed from both theoretical and empirical aspects. Theoretical analysis shows that the impact of the quality of export products on the wage gap is uncertain. The empirical study found that the improvement of China's export product quality will expand the wage gap through the skill premium mechanism and profit sharing mechanism. Labor productivity and foreign direct investment also have a significant impact on the expansion of wage gap. Technological progress and foreign direct investment have obvious adjustment effects on the impact of export quality on wage gap. Among them, technological progress has a positive adjustment effect, while foreign direct investment has a negative adjustment effect. The robustness test indicates the reliability of the estimation results. In order to narrow the wage gap, the government should increase investment in human capital for low-skilled labor groups. At the same time, enterprises should increase the skills training for low-skilled labor and improve the skill level of low-skilled labor.

Key words: Export product quality, wage gap, adjustment effect

CLC Number:

F769.2

LIU Jun-ting, WANG Zi-rui, TONG Ji-ying. Export product quality and wage gap-research based on industry-level data in China[J]. Journal of Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, 2020(02): 28-38.

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