Does trade liberalization narrow the gender wage gap? The role of sectoral mobility

This paper analyzes the impact of import competition and dynamic labor adjustment on gender outcomes in wages and welfare in the U.S.. I consider a dynamic model of sectoral choice and structurally estimate mobility costs using data from the Current Population Survey and O*NET. A measure of intersectoral distance in task characteristics facilitates the structural estimation of switching costs that vary by gender and across sectors. In a set of trade shock simulations, an import competition shock in the manufacturing sector disproportionately affects male employment and wages. Since manufacturing is male labor intensive and men face higher exit costs from manufacturing, wage and welfare gains from trade are higher for women than men.