The Surprisingly Swift Decline of US Manufacturing Employment

Justin Pierce and Peter K. Schott

American Economic Review, 2016, vol. 106, issue 7, 1632-62

Abstract: This paper links the sharp drop in US manufacturing employment after 2000 to a change in US trade policy that eliminated potential tariff increases on Chinese imports. Industries more exposed to the change experience greater employment loss, increased imports from China, and higher entry by US importers and foreign-owned Chinese exporters. At the plant level, shifts toward less labor-intensive production and exposure to the policy via input-output linkages also contribute to the decline in employment. Results are robust to other potential explanations of employment loss, and there is no similar reaction in the European Union, where policy did not change.

JEL-codes: D72 E24 F13 F16 L24 L60 P33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20131578
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Related works:
Working Paper: The Surprisingly Swift Decline of U.S. Manufacturing Employment (2014)
Working Paper: The Surprisingly Swift Decline of U.S. Manufacturing Employment (2014)
Working Paper: The Surprisingly Swift Decline of U.S. Manufacturing Employment (2013)
Working Paper: The Surprisingly Swift Decline of U.S. Manufacturing Employment (2012)
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