In their pursuit of profits, adventure and new markets, humans have traded since prehistoric times. The relations between trade, profits and technological change, how- ever, were not the main concern of early economists ranging from Aristotle to the mercantilists. Presumably because in their world, the rate of technological change was decidedly low, and the basket and quality of goods available through production and trade did not change much over decades, or even centuries! In addition, it was not the technological change that brought markets closer, but “the ferocity of nomadic horsemen or the edge of a scimitar”, while “violently imposed monopolies and plunder”. (Findlay and O’Rourke, 2003) made trade more profitable. It was not until the industrial revolution that growth rates began to rise to high levels. Now that human inventions and discoveries came faster and cheaper than ever, trade liberalization was not only the way to gain access to new markets; trade liberalization had also a role in promoting growth. Trade liberalization in the form of lower trade costs, increases profits from exporting, and consequently, overall profits. That increases the incentives to innovate, produce something new and export it. Trade liberalization thus promotes technological change by increasing the incentives firms have to conduct R&D, implement the innovation or improvement and make larger profits. The field of economics that studies economic growth as the result of decisions made by profit-maximizing firms is called endogenous growth theory. There have been a number of theoretical advances in endogenous growth theory over the last 20 years, but there is no consensus on whether trade liberalization promotes growth or not. Some models predict that trade liberalization has a positive effect on growth. Other models predict no effect at all. In addition, not all countries have benefited equally from globalization. In this dissertation, I study the linkages between trade liberalization and economic growth (papers one and two). In papers two and three, I also explore the relationships between globalization, growth and the demand for labor. There is well documented evidence from a number of countries, that the demand for less-skilled labor has decreased in recent decades, and this decrease has resulted in a higher skilled-wage premium, that is, the degree in which the wages of skilled workers exceed less-skilled worker wages. This phenomenon has occurred in several countries, including the U.S. The skilled- wage premium has also increased in Europe, although less dramatically. In paper two, the relationships between trade liberalization, growth and wage inequality are analyzed using an endogenous growth model. The third and final paper is an empirical study on the relationships between the demand for labor and offshoring. More specifically, I examine what happens to the demand for different types of labor (not only skilled and unskilled labor) in the Swedish plants of Swedish multinational enterprises, when these multinationals expand abroad. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2011

The availability of small areas for cultivation together with the technical and economic deficiencies often aggravated by socio-cultural aspects, creating the small farms, a scenario likely to farming practices with a high degree of unsustainability. From this contest was held this field study, between September 2008 and October 2009 an agrarian reform settlement aimed at examining different forms of soil management, its potential for improving soil quality and its implications for socioeconomic in small farms. The experimental design was randomized blocks with split plots with four replications. The treatments consisted of plots of crop systems: maize + cowpea (M + FC), maize + Pigeon pea dwarf (M + GA); corn + velvet bean (M + MP) and maize monocrop (MS). The sub-plots by the forms of fertilizer: organic source - turkey litter (AO); Without the addition of nutrients (SA) and mineral source - NPK (AM). We assessed aspects related to grain yield of corn, physical and chemical properties of soil in two layers (0-5 and 5-10 cm depth) and socioeconomic aspects of managements. Water stress led to a negative effect of M + FC on grain yield of maize, which in turn was not affected by M + MP, and were higher in treatments with AM (P <0.05). Cultures GA and MP had the highest intakes of nitrogen (N) via aboveground. The cropping systems showed positive results for bulk density and soil porosity. There was a tendency to decrease in aggregate stability for all systems studied, including the fallow treatment. There was no increase (P <0.05) of soil organic carbon (COT) of the systems studied, only attenuated the decrease of this natural element. Showed an increase (P> 0.05) compared to the initial content of N in the soil, and the consortium M + MP which showed the highest levels in both studied layers. The study also found decreased (P <0.05) in the attributes SMP pH, base saturation, exchangeable potassium content, reflecting the increase (P <0.05) in aluminum saturation. Another aspect observed was the increase (P <0.05) CTCpH7.em both layers. The systems studied showed net negative reflections of the high cost of some inputs and low yields obtained. The demand for labor by the managements of the systems has been affected by sowing cover crops for soil, and the management of these, either by restricting the growth of vegetation or the harvest of the seeds. Although it was short time for consistent evaluations, the results obtained by cropping systems indicate that there are gains in productive aspects, contribution of COT and N, especially in soil physical properties. This condition reflects the possibility of replacing the "conventional" system of cultivation of maize by the systems studied, with gains in sustainability, in many ways. / A disponibilidade de pequenas áreas para cultivo aliada as deficiências técnicas e econômicas, agravadas muitas vezes por aspectos sócio-culturais, cria nas pequenas propriedades, um cenário propenso a práticas agropecuárias com elevado grau de insustentabilidade. A partir deste contesto, foi realizado este estudo de campo, no período de setembro de 2008 e outubro de 2009, num assentamento de reforma agrária objetivando investigar diferentes formas de manejo de solo, seu potencial de melhoria na qualidade do solo e suas implicações sócio-econômicas em pequenas propriedades rurais. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi blocos ao acaso com parcelas subdivididas, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram compostos nas parcelas pelos sistemas de cultivo: Milho + Feijão caupi (M + FC); Milho + Guandu anão (M + GA); Milho + Mucuna preta (M + MP) e Milho em cultivo solteiro (MS). Nas sub-parcelas pelas formas de adubação: Fonte orgânica cama de peru (AO); Sem adição de nutrientes (SA) e Fonte mineral NPK (AM). Foram avaliados aspectos relacionados ao rendimento de grãos da cultura do milho, atributos físicos e químicos do solo, em duas camadas (0-5 e 5-10 cm de profundidade) e aspectos socioeconômicos dos manejos. O estresse hídrico conduziu a um efeito negativo do M+ FC no rendimento de grãos de milho, que por sua vez não foi afetado por M + MP, e foram superiores nos tratamentos com AM (P<0,05). As culturas GA e MP apresentaram os maiores aportes de nitrogênio (N) via fitomassa aérea. Os sistemas de cultivos apresentaram resultados positivos em relação à densidade volumétrica do solo e porosidade. Observou-se a tendência a diminuição da estabilidade dos agregados para todos os sistemas estudados, inclusive no tratamento em pousio. Não houve incremento (P<0,05) de Carbono orgânico no solo (COT) dos sistemas estudados, apenas atenuaram a diminuição natural deste elemento. Observou-se incremento (P>0,05) em relação aos teores iniciais de N no solo, sendo o consórcio M + MP o que apresentou os maiores teores em ambas camadas estudadas. Também foi constatado diminuição (P<0,05) nos atributos pH SMP, saturação por bases, teor de potássio trocável, com reflexos no acréscimo (P<0,05) da saturação por alumínio. Outro aspecto observado foi o aumento (P<0,05) da CTCpH7.em ambas camadas. Os sistemas estudados apresentaram receita líquida negativa, reflexos do alto custo de alguns insumos e baixas produtividades obtidas. A demanda de mão de obra por parte dos manejos dos sistemas foi impactada pela semeadura das plantas de cobertura de solo, e pelo manejo dessas, seja pela contenção do crescimento vegetativo ou pela colheita das sementes. Embora tenha sido curto espaço de tempo para avaliações consistentes, os resultados obtidos pelos sistemas de cultivo indicam haver ganhos, em aspectos produtivos, aporte de COT e N, sobretudo, em atributos físicos do solo. Esta condição reflete na possibilidade de substituir o sistema convencional de cultivo do milho pelos sistemas estudados, com ganhos em sustentabilidade, sob vários aspectos.