Did Competing with China Affect Chilean Manufacturing Jobs? Evaluating Gender Differences in Employment During 1995–2006

Abstract

This article analyzes whether competition with China displaced domestic manufacturing jobs in Chile using a panel of 4-digit ISIC manufacturing industries during 1995–2006. The study estimates empirical models for six job aggregates that are matched to occupational types that are either replaceable by technological change (routine) or not (non-routine). Results show that due to tougher competition with Chinese imports, jobs held by men in non-routine and routine manufacturing occupations contracted, whereas jobs held by women in routine manufacturing occupations increased. Only one type of non-routine occupation, managerial jobs, held by women contracted due to the competition with China. HIGHLIGHTS Import competition with China during 1995–2006 reduced men’s manufacturing jobs in Chile, but had mixed results for women. Men’s jobs declined in management, administrative, clerical, and custodial occupations. Women’s jobs decreased in managerial positions, but increased in low-skilled positions. Low-skilled women workers may be substituting men’s jobs like machines. A rise in women’s routine jobs does not suggest improvement in employment conditions or wages, nor in attachment to the labor force.