We propose a theoretical foundation for a link between North-South trade imbalances and skill upgrading. We provide robust support for our theory using a panel of US manufacturing industries observed between 1977 and 2005. Our results suggest that the impact of the US trade deficit on the...

We study, both theoretically and empirically, how trade imbalances affect the structure of countries' exports and wage inequality. We show that, in a Heckscher-Ohlin model with a continuum of goods, a Southern (Northern) trade surplus leads to an increase (reduction) in the average skill...

This paper studies the effect of imported inputs on the relative demand for high-skill labor. To this purpose, it applies propensity score matching techniques to firm-level data for 27 transition countries. The results show that importing inputs induces skill upgrading. Specifically, it explains...

We study the relationship between new imported inputs and the introduction of new domestic products. To this purpose, we assemble a novel data set covering 25 European countries over 1995–2007 and containing information on domestic production and bilateral trade for the universe of goods. We...

Using comparable data for nine Western European countries, this paper finds that service offshoring exerts positive and economically large effects on domestic productivity. A one percentage point increase in service offshoring is found to raise Total Factor Productivity by 0.5-0.6 percent.

This paper empirically studies the effects of service offshoring on white-collar employment, using data for more than one hundred U.S. occupations. A model of firm behavior based on separability allows to derive the labor demand elasticity with respect to service offshoring for each occupation....

Using comparable data for nine Western European countries, this paper finds that service offshoring exerts positive and economically large effects on domestic productivity. A one percentage point increase in service offshoring is found to raise Total Factor Productivity by 0.5-0.6 percent.

Using comparable industry-level data for nine Western European countries, this paper finds that the international relocation of service activities (service offshoring) exerts positive and economically large effects on domestic productivity. A one percentage point increase in the proxy for...

This paper studies the effects of foreign participation on economic performance in Lombardy, a Northern Italian region accounting for more than 40% of Foreign Direct Investment inflows in Italy. We employ a large database consisting of balance sheet and foreign ownership information for more...

We study, both theoretically and empirically, how export intensity (the ratio of exports to sales) is related to firm productivity. Using a representative sample of Italian manufacturing firms, we find that Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is strongly negatively correlated with export intensity...