Impact of Trade Liberalization on the Industry Wages in Pakistan (1995 – 2015)

Abstract

The paper estimates the effects of trade reforms on workers' earnings in Pakistan's manufacturing sector during 1995-2015, employing data from 14 rounds of the Pakistan Labour Force Survey. OLS technique has been used for estimation and separate analysis for workers engaged in informal manufacturing activities is also undertaken. The results indicate that a tariff fall on intermediate products is associated with a rise in real earnings of workers employed in the manufacturing sector during this period, while a corresponding decline in tariffs on final goods has no effect on worker's wages. The results show that real wages of workers employed in the mainly export oriented industries of food, beverages and tobacco, textiles, apparel and leather and non-metallic mineral industries have declined over the twenty years period of trade reforms implemented in Pakistan. On the other hand, real wages are observed to have increased in the chemical and petroleum and basic metals industries.