Maria Bas

Technology Adoption, Export Status, and Skill Upgrading: Theory and Evidence

This paper develops a model of trade that features heterogeneous firms, technology choice and different types of skilled labor in a general equilibrium framework to explain within-industry increase in the relative demand for skilled workers. Its main contribution is to investigate the impact of firms export and technology choice decisions on skill upgrading. Only firms in the upper range of the productivity distribution produce for the foreign market using high-technology. Since this technology is skilled-biased, exporters that resort to modern technologies are more skill intensive. Empirical evidence is also provided to support the models main predictions using plant-level panel data from Chiles manufacturing sector (1990–1999).

Trade Liberalization and Heterogeneous Technology Investments.

We propose a trade model where heterogeneous firms decide on a productivity-enhancing technology investment. The model analyzes the impact of multilateral trade liberalization on firm- and industry-level productivity. Freer trade increases the incentives to invest in technology by raising export profits. It also dampens these incentives, however, as profits stemming from domestic sales are reduced. Only exporters benefit from the former positive effect. The shape of the distribution of efficiency draws, the level of trade costs and the technology intensity of the industry are key elements removing the ambiguities regarding the net impact of trade liberalization.

Trade integration in manufacturing: the Chilean experience

Using bilateral trade flow data from 1979 to 1999, we estimate trade integration between Chile and its principal trading partners during the period (European Union, United States and Latin America). Our estimates are based on a gravity specification, theoretically grounded on a monopolistic competition framework with increasing returns. Trade barriers are measured following the border effect methodology by comparing inter-national imports to intra-national ones. Our results are consistent with the agenda of trade integration followed by Chile. Moreover, trade integration turns out to be heterogeneous across industries and over the time. We also find asymmetries between export and import oriented policies as well as between partners. All these features are usually missing when one uses direct measures of trade policies.