Working Paper: NBER ID: w30646
Authors: Lisa B. Kahn; Lindsay Oldenski; Geunyong Park
Abstract: Minority workers generally have worse economic outcomes than whites, and are disproportionately impacted by many negative shocks. However, we show that Black-white employment gaps narrowed as a result of China's WTO accession because Black workers transitioned to nonmanufacturing employment at higher rates. They also lived in less exposed areas of the country and were less reliant on manufacturing employment at baseline. Hispanic populations in contrast were overrepresented in exposed manufacturing industries and experienced larger overall employment losses. The China shock thus widened Hispanic-white gaps, though this effect was short lived. The lasting negative effects were driven primarily by white workers.
Keywords: racial inequality; ethnic inequality; China shock; labor market; import competition
JEL Codes: F16; J15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| China shock (F69) | black-white employment gaps narrowing (J79) |
| lower exposure to manufacturing imports (L69) | black-white employment gaps narrowing (J79) |
| black workers' transition to non-manufacturing jobs (J68) | black-white employment gaps narrowing (J79) |
| China shock (F69) | decline in manufacturing employment for black workers (J79) |
| Hispanic exposure to import competition (F66) | larger decline in manufacturing employment (L69) |
| increased import competition (F69) | increase in non-manufacturing employment for black workers (J79) |
| increase in import competition (F69) | no change in non-manufacturing employment for white workers (J79) |
| increase in exposure (F62) | decline in non-manufacturing employment for Hispanic workers (J79) |
| educational and occupational differences (I24) | differential impacts on Hispanic workers (J79) |