Re:Crises of Elite Competition in the East and West
by eru on Wednesday December 01, 2021 @06:55AM
(#29402883)
Your logic would suggest that workers in tradable industries get paid less than those in non-tradeable goods and services, wouldn't it?
That's something we can look into.
Re:Crises of Elite Competition in the East and West
by wahern on Wednesday December 01, 2021 @03:39PM
(#29408858)
> Your logic would suggest that workers in tradable industries get paid less than those in non-tradeable goods and services, wouldn't it?
Not necessarily, as the laborers displaced by off-shoring are now competing in the labor pool for many other non-tradeable industries. That's what I meant when I said, "suppressing wages in industries with low costs of entry--remaining manufacturing but especially non-professional services." An increase in supply relative to demand usually will mean a lower clearing price (i.e. more people for fewer jobs usually means lower accepted wages).
Most goods are tradable, and for decades now manufacture of consumer goods relocates relatively quickly in search of low cost labor. This leaves a surplus of workers behind, suppressing wages in industries with low costs of entry--remaining manufacturing but especially non-professional services.
IOW, labor markets are strongly globalized from the perspective of capital. A little less so from the perspective of laborers, though their wages remain stagnant all the same, so in many ways it's a distinction without a difference.