198
GLOBALIZATION, WAGES, AND THE QUALITY OF JOBS: FIVE COUNTRY STUDIES
TABLE 6.12 Wage Regressions Restricted to Manufacturing Workers, 2004 Dependent variable: log hourly earnings Independent variable Years schooling Age
Age squared
(A)
(B)
0.084
(D)
(E)
0.083
0.081
0.080
(17.43)**
(17.29)**
(17.18)**
(17.12)**
0.060
0.060
0.061
0.060
(5.47)**
(5.40)**
(5.50)**
(5.43)**
–0.001 (4.45)**
Female
(C)
–0.001
–0.001
(4.38)**
(4.55)**
–0.072
0.097
0.074
–0.066
(2.29)*
(1.81)
(1.46) –0.371 (3.13)**
Observations R-squared
(4.47)**
(1.38)
Cigar maker
Constant
–0.001
–0.047
(2.04)* Garment finisher
(F)
0.936
0.933
(5.41)**
(5.39)**
1,226 0.24
–0.377 (3.17)**
–0.518 (3.83)**
2.643
0.983
0.980
(123.93)**
(5.68)**
(5.66)**
2.639
1,226
1,226
1,226
1,226
1,226
0.24
0.00
0.24
0.24
0.01
(139.66)**
SOURCE: Authors’ calculations from various years of the INE’s Encuesta Permanente de Hogares de Propósitos Múltiples (Multi-use Permanent Household Survey). NOTE: Absolute value of t-statistics in parentheses. * significant at the X percent level. ** significant at the Y percent level.
Conclusion Globalization in Honduras includes capital inflows, labor outflows, and exchange of goods. Dramatic growth in FDI, exports, and remittances all illustrate increasing globalization in the country. Increasing globalization can be linked to changes in institutions and economic conditions that affect working conditions. Anecdotal evidence and qualitative assessments suggest that increased attention to the apparel sector by foreign consumers, governments, and organizations seems to have led to improved conditions in exporting sectors. Relative to other sectors, the main exporting sector, apparel, pays a significant wage premium. Contraction in agriculture may have contributed to rising emigration and movement into apparel. The increase in FDI and export opportunities also drew workers into the apparel industry, where, controlling for personal characteristics, workers earn about 20 percent more than average earnings in other employment, suggesting that overall, globalization contributed to improvements in working conditions in Honduras.