Who supports free trade in Latin America

In developing countries, wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers will decrease based on the neoclassical trade theory (Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) framework), but may also increase according to new trade theory (Human Capital model and Intra-Industry Trade (IIT)) under trade liberalization. This thesis examines individual trade policy preferences across 17 countries in Latin America. The focus of this thesis is on skilled versus unskilled workers' trade preferences. My empirical results suggest that on average skilled workers are more likely than unskilled workers to support free trade. Country-separate regressions reveal that this pattern is observed in 10 out of 17 Latin American countries. People from countries of higher GDP per capita, higher FDI, and higher unemployment are more likely to support free trade. This thesis also finds that individual preference regarding regional trade may be different from general trade.