Does Trade, Technology, or Education Expel Traditional Sectors?
Author InfoManitra A. Rakotoarisoa Sung-soo Kim Abstract Rapid economic growth and development often drives out traditional activities. We determine how increased trade, technology, and access to education in South Korea led to the collapse of its silk sector. Results show that although the imports of silk yarn and fabric reduced domestic silk output and prices, trade liberalization was not the sole contributor to the collapse. Inelastic labor demand for unskilled workers, skill-biased technology, and especially increased access to education all led to a sharp rise in the relative wage of unskilled workers, and the ensuing rise in production costs contributed to the silk sector’s collapse. Copyright 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation 2008 East Asian Economic Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Download InfoTo download: If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Fo
