Cheap Imports and the Loss of U.S. Manufacturing Jobs


Book Description

This paper examines the role of international trade, and specifically imports from low-wage countries, in determining patterns of job loss in U.S. manufacturing industries between 1992 and 2007. Motivated by intuitions from factor-proportions-inspired work on offshoring and heterogeneous firms in trade, we build industry-level measures of import competition. Combining worker data from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics dataset, detailed establishment information from the Census of Manufactures, and transaction-level trade data, we find that rising import competition from China and other developing economies increases the likelihood of job loss among manufacturing workers with less than a high school degree; it is not significantly related to job losses for workers with at least a college degree.







Job Loss from Imports


Book Description

In this study of the medium-term effects of trade displacement on American workers, Kletzer uses worker-level data from the US Displaced Worker Surveys to examine the pattern of reemployment following trade-related job loss. She also analyzes regional and local labor market variations, and concludes by exploring the implications of her findings for US policy on linking the labor market and international trade.




Failure to Adjust


Book Description

*Updated edition with a new foreword on the Trump administration's trade policy* The vast benefits promised by the supporters of globalization, and by their own government, have never materialized for many Americans. In Failure to Adjust Edward Alden provides a compelling history of the last four decades of US economic and trade policies that have left too many Americans unable to adapt to or compete in the current global marketplace. He tells the story of what went wrong and how to correct the course. Originally published on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, Alden’s book captured the zeitgeist that would propel Donald J. Trump to the presidency. In a new introduction to the paperback edition, Alden addresses the economic challenges now facing the Trump administration, and warns that economic disruption will continue to be among the most pressing issues facing the United States. If the failure to adjust continues, Alden predicts, the political disruptions of the future will be larger still.




The New Division of Labor


Book Description

As the current recession ends, many workers will not be returning to the jobs they once held--those jobs are gone. In The New Division of Labor, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane show how computers are changing the employment landscape and how the right kinds of education can ease the transition to the new job market. The book tells stories of people at work--a high-end financial advisor, a customer service representative, a pair of successful chefs, a cardiologist, an automotive mechanic, the author Victor Hugo, floor traders in a London financial exchange. The authors merge these stories with insights from cognitive science, computer science, and economics to show how computers are enhancing productivity in many jobs even as they eliminate other jobs--both directly and by sending work offshore. At greatest risk are jobs that can be expressed in programmable rules--blue collar, clerical, and similar work that requires moderate skills and used to pay middle-class wages. The loss of these jobs leaves a growing division between those who can and cannot earn a good living in the computerized economy. Left unchecked, the division threatens the nation's democratic institutions. The nation's challenge is to recognize this division and to prepare the population for the high-wage/high-skilled jobs that are rapidly growing in number--jobs involving extensive problem solving and interpersonal communication. Using detailed examples--a second grade classroom, an IBM managerial training program, Cisco Networking Academies--the authors describe how these skills can be taught and how our adjustment to the computerized workplace can begin in earnest.




Imports, Exports, and Jobs


Book Description

Annotation Kletzer attempts to heighten our understanding of the labor market costs of freer trade. While economy-wide net benefits may ensue from lossening trade policies, such policies do not proclude localized net losses. This book aims to measure some of these losses in the hope that future policy making will address them and the people who bear the burdon.




Offshoring in the Global Economy


Book Description

Feenstra first contrasts the views of trade economists Paul Krugman and Edward Leamer, who both relied (to different ends) on the Heckscher-Ohlin model. He then examines the new type of trade model whereby the production processes transfer across countries.




Rebound


Book Description

Rebound takes the currently unthinkable view that the economy will bounce back faster and stronger from the downturn than most economists expect. Noted Labor economist Stephen J. Rose amasses data on the economic performance of America over the last 30 years to debunk myths about declining middle class incomes, burger-flipping jobs and global competition. He also describes the evolution of the financial crisis and mortgage lending implosion under the rubric of "brilliant idiocy" to show how the investors, financial firms, and regulators all made devastating mistakes in pursuit of quick gains. The book argues forcefully that simple financial regulation and forthcoming investments in education, health care and energy will pay quick and healthy dividends. Using economic analysis rather than partisan argument, Rebound cuts through the clutter of political debate to show how the economy will return to high growth rates.







Saving American Manufacturing


Book Description

In his new book, Bill Killingsworth documents the decline of economic and intellectual wealth caused by the loss of U.S. Manufacturing. His thought provoking analysis of this empirical data leads us back to the answers to save ourselves and generations to come. —Rick Jarman, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences Exceptional book—timely and insightful. His analysis is spot on, examples persuasive, and recommendations worth consideration at the highest level. A call to action we cannot ignore. —James Rogers, Major General (Retired), U.S. Army Drawing on his extensive experience, thorough research and obvious sense of responsibility, Dr. Killingsworth provides a comprehensive and provocative case for the importance of American manufacturing. This timely work should be required reading for anyone engaged with forming or leading economic policy. —Ralph L. Resnick, President and Executive Director, NCDMM, Founding Director, America Makes Dr. Killingsworth presents clear arguments as to why manufacturing is essential to the United States, and how our nation can capture, benefit, and drive the future of the world economy via embracing global concepts of manufacturing and taking the lead on innovating its future. —Thomas R. Kurfess, PhD, PE, Professor and HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Killingsworth paints one of the most definitive pictures of what has been happening over the last several years in the U.S. manufacturing sector. His statistical analysis and compelling anecdotal evidence contribute invaluable insights for scholars and policymakers alike. This is a must-read in Washington and around the country. —Neal Orringer, Vice President, Alliances and Partnerships, 3DSYSTEMS