North-South Trade and Occupational Wages : Some Evidence from North America

The issue of trade and wages in general, and of North-South trade and wages in particular, has recently received a great deal of attention by economists and public policy analysts. This paper offers some empirical evidence of the effects of North-South trade on occupational wages in North America. Using a detailed, applied general equilibrium model, we obtain results indicating that it is possible for trade liberalization among the North American countries to entail real wage benefits for most occupational groups in all three countries. An exception to this general pattern is the case of agricultural laborers in Mexico