Ma Xiao | Learning through Exports and Wages: New Evidence from Brazil

On December 3, the 11th Annual Meeting of the China Council for the Study of International Trade (CTRG) was successfully held as part of the 2021 Academic Symposium on International Trade Disputes and the Restructuring of Globalization.Ma Xiao, Assistant Professor, Peking University HSBC Business SchoolAttended and shared with collaborators (see below) on the topic ofLearning Through Exports and Wages: New Evidence from BrazilLearning by Exporting and Wage Profiles: New Evidence from BrazilThe article.

Article author

Xiao Ma is an Assistant Professor at Peking University HSBC Business School. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 2021, with a major research focus on international trade and macroeconomics. His research has been published in economics journals such as *Economic Research Journal* and *World Economy*.

Horse neigh

Ma Xiao and his collaborators' articlesThe paper explicitly states that export activities affect workers' experience wages. Using detailed data on Brazilian manufacturing employers, employees, and customs, it demonstrates that workers in exporting companies earn higher experience wages than those in non-exporting companies. Beyond the autonomy of choosing to export to more capable firms, the paper shows that experience wage rates are higher when firms export to high-income destinations. A counterfactual experiment is then conducted by developing and quantifying a model incorporating export market entry, wage renegotiation, and human capital accumulation. The paper finds that human capital growth can explain approximately 40% of the wage difference between exporters and non-exporters, as well as the experience gains from moving to high-income destinations. The paper also shows that the increase in human capital per worker can account for half of the total real income gains from trade liberalization. Regarding the mitigation of human capital accumulation, trade liberalization is more effective if the trading partner is a low-income destination.Changes may lead to a loss of welfare.

(Translated from a paper abstract provided by the guest)

Fan Haichao

Fan Haichao, Professor of Economics, Fudan UniversityThe following is a summary of Professor Ma's article from two perspectives: From an empirical perspective: 1. Detailed employer-employee and customs data from the Brazilian manufacturing sector. 2. Experience wage conditions for workers in exporting countries are steeper than those in non-exporting countries. 3. Experience wage conditions for workers are even steeper when firms export to high-income destinations. From a theoretical and quantitative perspective: 1. Developing and quantifying models to explain empirical results and conducting counterfactual experiments. 2. Human capital growth can explain approximately 40% of the wage difference between exporters and non-exporters, as well as the gains from experience returns after entering high-income destinations. 3. Increased per capita human capital can account for half of the total real income gains from trade liberalization. 4. Trade liberalization may result in welfare losses if the trading partner is a low-income destination.

CTRG attendees and scholars