FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND WAGES:A BARGAINING POWER APPROACH

Abstract

This paper presents a cross-country empirical investigation of the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on manufacturing wages. Our results indicate that FDI-Flows have a negative impact on overall wages in the manufacturing sector and this impact is stronger for female wages. We argue that one possible explanation for such an impact may be a decrease in the bargaining power of labor due to new labor market arrangements in a global economy where capital is free to move across countries in search of more favorable conditions. This decline in labor power also tends to have a greater impact on the more vulnerable workers female workers whose bargainingpositions have been traditionally lower than male workers.