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Trade cost reduction, subcontracting and unionised wage

Author

Listed:
  • Maiti, Dibyendu
  • Mukherjee, Arijit
Abstract
We show the effects of trade cost reduction in the presence of a domestic firm's strategic output allocation between formal in-house production and subcontracting to the informal sector. Considering a one-way trade, we show that trade cost reduction increases the in-house unionised wage, in-house employment, union utility, the formal–informal wage gap and consumer surplus, it reduces informal production and the profit of the domestic firm, and it creates an ambiguous effect on welfare. Whether trade cost reduction increases the income gap between the domestic producer and the labour union is ambiguous, and depends on the trade cost and the cost of subcontracting. Considering a two-way trade with symmetric segmented markets, we show that a symmetric trade cost reduction reduces the domestic unionised wage, domestic in-house employment, union utility, it increases informal production, consumer surplus and it creates ambiguous effects of the profits.

Suggested Citation

  • Maiti, Dibyendu & Mukherjee, Arijit, 2013. "Trade cost reduction, subcontracting and unionised wage," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 103-110.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:21:y:2013:i:c:p:103-110
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2013.01.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hamid Beladi & Hamid Arijit Mukherjee, 2015. "Union bargaining power and innovation in the presence of subcontracting," Working Papers 0195eco, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    2. Kazuhiro Takauchi & Tomomichi Mizuno, 2019. "Consumer-benefiting transport cost: The role of product innovation in a vertical structure," Discussion Papers 1911, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    3. Maiti, Dibyendu & Bhattacharyya, Chandril, 2020. "Informality, enforcement and growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 259-274.
    4. Beladi, Hamid & Mukherjee, Arijit, 2017. "Union bargaining power, subcontracting and innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 90-104.
    5. Takauchi, Kazuhiro, 2015. "Endogenous transport price and international R&D rivalry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 36-43.
    6. Renu Bansal & Dibyendu Maiti, 2024. "Capital Inflow, Strategic Subcontracting, and Formal Employment," Working papers 348, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    7. Takauchi, Kazuhiro & Mizuno, Tomomichi, 2019. "Solving a hold-up problem may harm all firms: Downstream R&D and transport-price contracts," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 29-49.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade cost; Subcontracting; Unionised wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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