Impacts de l'ouverture Nord-Sud sur le progrès technique et les inégalités salariales

We analyse the influence of North-South openness on technological change and on inequalities between skilled and unskilled workers in the advanced countries (the ?North?). A North-South model of endogenous growth based on technological knowledge is constructed and simulated according to 3 scenarios: autarky, North-South openness with flexible labour markets, and openness with a minimum wage in the North. The model shows that North-South openness (i) increases the skill premium and reduces R&D and the productivity growth when labour markets are perfectly competitive, and (ii) increases R&D and productivity at the expense of the less skilled employment when there is a minimum wage. In the long term, openness with a minimum wage in the North is the best situation in terms of real income per head. Classification JEL : F43, J30, O30, O40.