Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries

This article empirically investigates whether trade linkages have any contribution to skill upgrading in the Malaysian electrical and electronics (E&E) firms by using establishment level data. The richness of data provided by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) enable us to explore the di...

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Main Authors: Azmafazilah Jauhari, Noor Aini Khalifah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2018
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/1/jeko_521-8.pdf
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author Azmafazilah Jauhari,
Noor Aini Khalifah,
author_facet Azmafazilah Jauhari,
Noor Aini Khalifah,
author_sort Azmafazilah Jauhari,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This article empirically investigates whether trade linkages have any contribution to skill upgrading in the Malaysian electrical and electronics (E&E) firms by using establishment level data. The richness of data provided by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) enable us to explore the direct impact of each aspect of trade linkages, including exports of goods, imported inputs (outsourcing), and foreign ownership (FDI). More crucially, this research analyse the effects of the modern trade pattern, i.e. vertical trade which would best capture the current trend in the Malaysian E&E sector – high overlap in exports and imported inputs. The skill demand is analysed using dynamic skill share demand equation and GMM (generalised method of moments) estimator addresses both the endogeneity and firm fixed effect. Contrary to previous studies, results suggest that export and outsourcing do not significantly contribute to skill upgrading in Malaysian E&E establishments within the period under study. Plus, vertical trade and foreign share have significant negative impact on relative demand for skilled workers. These findings provide evidence that vertical trade as well as the presence of multinational corporations (MNCs) are associated with skill downgrading in Malaysian E&E sector. Empirical evidence does not uphold the conventional wisdom of the beneficial effects of trade especially ultra-vertical or export processing trade on skill upgrading.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:196272022-09-08T07:37:30Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/ Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries Azmafazilah Jauhari, Noor Aini Khalifah, This article empirically investigates whether trade linkages have any contribution to skill upgrading in the Malaysian electrical and electronics (E&E) firms by using establishment level data. The richness of data provided by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) enable us to explore the direct impact of each aspect of trade linkages, including exports of goods, imported inputs (outsourcing), and foreign ownership (FDI). More crucially, this research analyse the effects of the modern trade pattern, i.e. vertical trade which would best capture the current trend in the Malaysian E&E sector – high overlap in exports and imported inputs. The skill demand is analysed using dynamic skill share demand equation and GMM (generalised method of moments) estimator addresses both the endogeneity and firm fixed effect. Contrary to previous studies, results suggest that export and outsourcing do not significantly contribute to skill upgrading in Malaysian E&E establishments within the period under study. Plus, vertical trade and foreign share have significant negative impact on relative demand for skilled workers. These findings provide evidence that vertical trade as well as the presence of multinational corporations (MNCs) are associated with skill downgrading in Malaysian E&E sector. Empirical evidence does not uphold the conventional wisdom of the beneficial effects of trade especially ultra-vertical or export processing trade on skill upgrading. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2018 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/1/jeko_521-8.pdf Azmafazilah Jauhari, and Noor Aini Khalifah, (2018) Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries. Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 52 (1). pp. 89-103. ISSN 0127-1962 https://www.ukm.my/jem/issue/v52i1/
spellingShingle Azmafazilah Jauhari,
Noor Aini Khalifah,
Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries
title Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries
title_full Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries
title_fullStr Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries
title_full_unstemmed Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries
title_short Trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the Malaysian electrical and electronics industries
title_sort trade linkages and skill demand : empirical evidence for the malaysian electrical and electronics industries
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/19627/1/jeko_521-8.pdf