Foreign direct investment, education and wages in Indonesian manufacturing

Abstract

This paper examines whether the higher wages paid by foreign-owned manufacturing plants than by domestically owned plants, typical of most countries, represents a higher price for labor. That is, does it reflect a higher price for workers of a given quality, as represented by the level of education? We then ask whether foreign-owned plants pay a higher price for labor given the characteristics of the plants. Foreign-owned firms are found to pay a higher price for labor of a given educational level than domestically owned ones. Only a part of the difference is associated with plant characteristics, rather than ownership. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.