Three essays on the economic consequences of increased global integration

I address a sub-set of the rich array of research questions associated with international economic integration. While each chapter involves a distinct topic, international trade is the common thread. International trade is considered by economists to be a net welfare-improving endeavor, yet opposition to further trade liberalization has grown in recent years with domestic job loss frequently cited as an outcome of liberalization. The first chapter investigates this hypothesized relationship between imports and job displacement. Analysis is undertaken for the full U.S. manufacturing workforce, by industry exposure to import competition, and for various worker sub-classifications. The findings are consistent with the labor market dynamics predicted by standard trade theory. Import competition is positively associated with job displacement; however, across worker sub-classifications, variation in the relationship is found. Additionally, domestic demand shifts and macroeconomic fluctuations have larger impacts on displacement than does increased import competition.; The second chapter examines whether immigrant populations influence trade between the U.S. and the immigrants' home country. The level of the immigrant population is found to be a significant determinant of bilateral trade. However, immigration from non-OECD member nations and low-income countries leads to increased U.S.-home country trade while immigration from OECD member nations or high- and medium-income countries does not. For low-income home countries, I decompose the immigrant-trade link into transplanted home bias and the exploitation of business/network opportunities channels and generate country-level and per-immigrant estimates for each of the impact of a hypothesized increase in the immigrant stock. The impacts on trade associated with projected future U.S. immigrant populations are estimated through 2012. The third chapter quantifies long-term displacement-related wage and earnings losses and evaluates stylized versions of programs designed to assist displaced workers. Losses are examined for the full worker sample, various worker sub-classifications and by relative industry exposure to import competition. Job displacement is positively associated with large and persistent real wage and earnings losses with substantial variation found across worker sub-classifications. The typical worker realizes wage and earnings losses beginning three years prior to displacement and persisting five years following displacement.