Can Trade Help Achieve the Employment Targets of the Sustainable Development Goals?

32 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2017

See all articles by Paul Vandenberg

Paul Vandenberg

Asian Development Bank - Economic Research

Date Written: January 27, 2017

Abstract

We ask whether trade can help to achieve the employment targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The focus is on Goal 8, which is to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.” The theoretical and empirical links between trade and employment are examined to suggest whether trade has a positive or negative impact on the quantity and quality of employment. At the aggregate level, trade has a positive impact on welfare, which can lead to job creation. However, freer trade causes some sectors and firms to expand and others to shrink. This adjustment process creates both a demand for labor in some sectors and job losses in others. Government policies to cushion the impact of adjustment and facilitate the movement of labor from declining to rising sectors are discussed.

Keywords: Trade, Trade Liberalization, SDGs, MDGS, Jobs, Employment, Unemployment, Trade Adjustment, Labor Market

JEL Classification: F1, J0, O1

Suggested Citation

Vandenberg, Paul, Can Trade Help Achieve the Employment Targets of the Sustainable Development Goals? (January 27, 2017). ADBI Working Paper 650, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3016100 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3016100

Paul Vandenberg (Contact Author)

Asian Development Bank - Economic Research ( email )

6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550
Metro Manila
Philippines

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