Foreign ownership, wages, and wage changes in US industries, 1987-92

The authors construct a data set by industry by state by ownership for establishments in the United States using 1987 and 1992 U. S. Census and Bureau of Economic Analysis matched data to investigate the relationship between foreign ownership and wages. They find evidence that foreign-owned establishments pay higher wages in manufacturing, retail trade, and other relatively low-skill industries, but not in other higher-skill industries. A growth in the fraction of employment in foreign establishments was not significantly associated with an increase in overall wages. There is no evidence of a wage spillover to domestic establishments.