Candidate: Tongyang Yang 

Dissertation Title: “Essays on the Impacts of Trade Liberalization” 

Abstract:  

This dissertation examines how a negative income shock induced by globalization affected U.S. local economies through various channels, including labor market outcomes, crime rates, and poverty. I first provide empirical results that trade liberalization with China reduced gender gaps in local U.S. labor markets. In MSAs with higher exposure to trade liberalization, the gender gap in wages and labor force participation declined. While men left the labor force, women joined it in the more affected areas. These changes are driven by more high‐skilled women entering the labor market and low‐skilled men exiting. I show that trade liberalization increased female workers’ unemployment rate and reliance on part‐time jobs. The second chapter provides empirical evidence that a higher minimum wage mitigates the increase in local crime rates caused by income crises in the U.S. Results show that a negative income shock resulting from the trade liberalization with China caused a rise in property crimes. In comparison, a higher minimum wage had a buffering effect on crimes. Notably, the most significant impact was on younger adults aged 20-29. Thus, a higher minimum wage may bring younger workers to the labor market, reducing potential property crime rates. The third chapter examines China Shock’s impact on Multi-Dimensional Deprivation Indices for different age groups. First, I calculate the Multi-Dimensional Indices on health, education, living standard, security, and personal activities. Then I employ the difference-in-difference framework to quantify China Shock’s impact on Multi-Dimensional Deprivation Indices. The results show China Shock presents a significant impact on young adults in terms of education and poverty. 

Committee: 

Tibor BesedeŠ, PhD (co-advisor), School of Economics, GA Tech 

Seung Hoon Lee, PhD (co-advisor), School of Economics, GA Tech 

Melissa Banzhaf, PhD, U.S. Census Bureau 

Julie Hotchkiss, PhD, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta 

Usha Nair-Reichert, PhD, School of Economics, GA Tech 

Link: https://zoom.us/j/96342838531?pwd=aDBUV3NOczJlcTFmdFEwcnhPM2FXZz09 

Time: 6/16/2021 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM