Globalization, creative destruction, and labour share change: evidence on the determinants and mechanisms from longitudinal plant-level data

Abstract

The labour share of GDP has declined in recent decades in many leading economies. This paper examines the mechanisms of falling labour share using Finnish manufacturing plant-level data over three decades. Using a useful variant of the decomposition method, we make a distinction between the changes in the average plant and the micro-level restructuring. We show that micro-level restructuring is the link between the declining labour share and increasing productivity, and that increased international trade is a factor underlying those shifts.