North-South Trade, Employment, and Inequality: Changing Fortunes in a Skill-Driven World (IDS Development Studies Series)

Drawing On Three Fields Of Economics (international, Labour, And Development) This Study Shows That Expansion Of North-south Trade In Manufactures Has Had A Far Greater Impact On Labour Markets Than Earlier Work Suggested. In The South, Unskilled Workers Have Benefited Most From This Trade, But In The North The Gains Have Been Concentrated On Skilled Labour, While Unskilled Workers Have Suffered Falling Wages And Rising Unemployment. This Decline In The Economic Position Of Unskilled Workers Has Increased Inequality, And Aggravated Crime And Other Forms Of Social Corrosion, On Both Sides Of The Atlantic. The Failure Of Northern Governments To Recognise That Trade With The South Has These Adverse Side-effects, And To Take Appropriate Counter-measures, Has Fuelled The Rise Of Protectionism - The Worst Possible Response, Which Slows Economic Progress In Both Regions. The Best Solution For The Longer Term In The North Is More Investment In Education, To Raise The Supply Of Skilled Labour. However, The Benefits Of This Investment Will Emerge Only Slowly. During The Next One Or Two Decades, Professor Wood Argues, Other Measures Are Also Urgently Needed To Boost The Demand For, And Incomes Of, Unskilled Workers. 1. Summary And Conclusions. 2. Theoretical Framework -- Pt. A. Patterns And Magnitudes. 3. Evidence From Previous Studies. 4. Factor Content Of Noncompeting Trade -- Pt. B. Causes And Consequences. 5. Trade Shifts And Sectoral Side-effects. 6. Skill Differentials And Inequality In The South. 7. Skill Differentials And Inequality In The North. 8. Unemployment In The North -- Pt. C. Prospects And Policies. 9. Past And Future. 10. Policy Options For The North -- App. A1: Cost Breakdown And Factor Prices -- App. A2: Changes In Relative Sectoral Skill Intensities -- App. A3: Returns To Education And Experience -- App. A4: Occupational Relativities -- App. A5: Wage Dispersion And Income Inequality. Adrian Wood. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [471]-491) And Index.