Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/114456 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
KOF Working Papers No. 385
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Zurich
Abstract: 
This paper examines the linkages between real exchange rate movements and firms' skill demand. Real exchange rate movements may affect unskilled workers differently than skilled workers because of skill-specific adjustment costs, or because exchange rates lead to changes in relative factor prices and firms' competition intensity. Using panel data on Swiss manufacturers, we find that an appreciation increases high-skilled and reduces low-skilled employment in most firms, while total employment remains roughly unchanged. We find evidence that exchange rates influence firms' skill intensity because they affect outsourcing activities, innovation efforts, and firms' compensation schemes.
Subjects: 
Labor Demand
Skill Intensity
Employment
Real Exchange Rates
Firms' Foreign Exposure
JEL: 
E24
F16
F31
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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