UBS CenterUZH

Prof. David Dorn

UBS Foundation Professor of Globalization and Labor Markets

Discover Prof. David Dorn on

David Dorn is the UBS Foundation Professor of Globalization and Labor Markets at the University of Zurich and the director of the university-wide interdisciplinary research priority program “Equality of Opportunity.” He was previously a tenured associate professor at CEMFI in Madrid, a visiting professor at the University of California in Berkeley, and a visiting professor at Harvard University.Professor Dorn’s research spans the fields of labor economics, international trade, economic geography, macroeconomics, and political economy. He published influential studies on the impacts of globalization and technological innovation on labor markets and society. David Dorn is among the 100 most highly cited economists worldwide in the last decade. In 2023, he was awarded the Hermann Heinrich Gossen Prize for the most accomplished economist in German-speaking countries under the age of 45.

Interests

Labor Economics, International Trade, Technological Change and Innovation, Macroeconomics, Political Economy

UBS Foundation Professor of Globalization and Labor Markets

Prof. David Dorn

Discover Prof. David Dorn on

David Dorn is the UBS Foundation Professor of Globalization and Labor Markets at the University of Zurich and the director of the university-wide interdisciplinary research priority program “Equality of Opportunity.” He was previously a tenured associate professor at CEMFI in Madrid, a visiting professor at the University of California in Berkeley, and a visiting professor at Harvard University.Professor Dorn’s research spans the fields of labor economics, international trade, economic geography, macroeconomics, and political economy. He published influential studies on the impacts of globalization and technological innovation on labor markets and society. David Dorn is among the 100 most highly cited economists worldwide in the last decade. In 2023, he was awarded the Hermann Heinrich Gossen Prize for the most accomplished economist in German-speaking countries under the age of 45.

Interests

Labor Economics, International Trade, Technological Change and Innovation, Macroeconomics, Political Economy

Selected publications

  • On the Persistence of the China Shock with David Autor, and Gordon H. Hanson NBER Working Paper No. 29401, October 2021 download

  • The rise of superstar firms UBS Center Policy Brief 2021 download

  • Migration and Labor Market Integration in Europe with Josef Zweimüller, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 35 (2): 49-76, 2021 download

  • Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure with David Autor, Gordon Hanson, and Kaveh Majlesi, American Economic Review 2020, 110(10): 3139–3183 download

  • The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms with David Autor, Lawrence F Katz, Christina Patterson and John van Reenen, The Quarterly Journal of Economics 135(2): 645-709, 2020 download

  • When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage Market Value of Young Men with David Autor and Gordon Hanson, American Economic Review: Insights, 2(1): 161-178, 2019 download

  • Concentrating on the Fall of the Labor Share with David Autor, Lawrence Katz, Christina Patterson and John Van Reenen, American Economic Review, P&P, 107(5): 180-185, 2017 download

  • The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade. with David Autor and Gordon Hanson, Annual Review of Economics, 8: 205-240, 2016 download

  • Trade Adjustment: Worker Level Evidence with David Autor, Gordon Hanson and Jae Song, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(4): 1799-1860, 2014 download

  • The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the U.S. with David Autor and Gordon Hanson, American Economic Review, 103(6): 2121-2168, 2013 download

  • The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the US Labor Market with David Autor, American Economic Review 103(5): 1553-1597, 2013 download

Research

David Dorn’s research studies the impact of globalization and technological change on labor market and society. His recent work shows that the rapid rise of goods imports from China to the US since the 1990s has had lasting adverse effects on both the careers of workers who were employed in import-competing industries, and on the economic development of cities where such industries were concentrated. These findings challenged and changed the conventional wisdom that trade has few discernible labor market effects. In related work, Dorn showed that the sharp contraction of manufacturing employment in import-exposed local labor markets is associated with broader patterns of social decline, including decreasing marriage rates and rising death tolls due to drug abuse. These same locations also experienced shifts in their electoral outcomes, as voters have become more likely to elect politicians whose policy positions place them on the far left, or more often on the far right of the spectrum of political ideology. The declining support for moderate politicians contributes to a polarization of US congress that makes it increasingly difficult to find bi-partisan solutions for dealing with the country’s economic and social problems.

Dorn’s ongoing research emphasizes that there is not only rising wage inequality among workers, but also a changing distribution of aggregate income between capital and labor. The labor share in national income is decreasing in many countries, which has a dramatic effect on income inequality: Since capital income is extremely concentrated at the top of the income distribution, a shift of aggregate income away from labor and towards capital will raise relative incomes at the very top, and reduce relative incomes for the majority of the population. Dorn’s work shows that the decline in labor’s income share is associated with a rapidly growing importance of large ‘superstar firms’. An analysis of nearly the full population of US firms indicates that larger firms charge higher mark-ups and are more profitable, which in turn implies that lower labor income share in these firms. During the last three decades, many output markets in the US and Europe have become more concentrated and dominated by large firms, and this increasing importance of ‘superstar firms’ shifts the distribution of aggregate income towards capital. This is a concern both due to growing monopolistic power in output markets, and rising income inequality in society.

David Dorn’s research studies the impact of globalization and technological change on labor market and society. His recent work shows that the rapid rise of goods imports from China to the US since the 1990s has had lasting adverse effects on both the careers of workers who were employed in import-competing industries, and on the economic development of cities where such industries were concentrated. These findings challenged and changed the conventional wisdom that trade has few discernible labor market effects. In related work, Dorn showed that the sharp contraction of manufacturing employment in import-exposed local labor markets is associated with broader patterns of social decline, including decreasing marriage rates and rising death tolls due to drug abuse. These same locations also experienced shifts in their electoral outcomes, as voters have become more likely to elect politicians whose policy positions place them on the far left, or more often on the far right of the spectrum of political ideology. The declining support for moderate politicians contributes to a polarization of US congress that makes it increasingly difficult to find bi-partisan solutions for dealing with the country’s economic and social problems.

Dorn’s ongoing research emphasizes that there is not only rising wage inequality among workers, but also a changing distribution of aggregate income between capital and labor. The labor share in national income is decreasing in many countries, which has a dramatic effect on income inequality: Since capital income is extremely concentrated at the top of the income distribution, a shift of aggregate income away from labor and towards capital will raise relative incomes at the very top, and reduce relative incomes for the majority of the population. Dorn’s work shows that the decline in labor’s income share is associated with a rapidly growing importance of large ‘superstar firms’. An analysis of nearly the full population of US firms indicates that larger firms charge higher mark-ups and are more profitable, which in turn implies that lower labor income share in these firms. During the last three decades, many output markets in the US and Europe have become more concentrated and dominated by large firms, and this increasing importance of ‘superstar firms’ shifts the distribution of aggregate income towards capital. This is a concern both due to growing monopolistic power in output markets, and rising income inequality in society.

David Dorn on Google Scholarbrowse

Videos

In the media

  • Trump’s tariffs: Help for the heartland? VoxTalks Economics Podcast with Tim Philipps S8E3 10.1.2025 listen

  • EU-Strafzölle gegen chinesische Autohersteller NZZ Kommentar vom 12.6.2024 lesen

  • EU-Kommission droht mit Strafzöllen auf chinesische E-Autos 10vor10 Sendung vom 12.6.2024 schauen

  • Help for the heartland? The employment and electoral effects of the Trump tariffs in the United States UBS Center Insight 3.6.2024 read

  • US-Wirtschaft wächst überraschend kräftig Echo der Zeit Sendung vom 30.5.2024 hören

  • Wie die Globalisierung ihre Gestalt verändert Eco Talk Sendung vom 26.2.2024 schauen

  • Donald Trump plant bereits den nächsten Handelskrieg mit China. Der Schweizer Ökonom David Dorn erklärt den Grund NZZ Artikel vom 20.2.2024 lesen

  • «Es wäre absurd, wegen der 10-Millionen-Schweiz die Wirtschaft zu schwächen» NZZaS Interview vom 18.11.2023 lesen

  • «Wir haben viel zu verlieren» UZH News Interview vom 1.11.2023 lesen

  • David Dorn mit Hermann-Heinrich-Gossen-Preis ausgezeichnet FAZ vom 26.9.2023 lesen

  • Wenn Omikron China lahmlegt Tagesanzeiger vom 28.11.2021 lesen

  • Was der China-Schock im Welthandel mit der Energiewende gemeinsam hat NZZ vom 17.11.2021 lesen

  • Arbeitslosigkeit erreicht Allzeithoch Luzernerzeitung vom 18.2.2021 lesen

  • Testen ist freiwillig, aber Tausende können ihrem Beruf nicht nachgehen: Hat die Schweiz die richtigen Corona-Regeln? Luzernerzeitung vom 7.11.2020 lesen

  • «Ohne Donald Trump wird nicht alles automatisch besser» Tagesanzeiger Interview mit David Dorn vom 2.11.2020 lesen

  • «Das sind Minimum-Massnahmen» SRF Regionaljournal mit David Dorn vom 1.11.2020 hören

  • What more should antitrust be doing? The Economicst 8.8.2020 read

  • «Ein Arbeitsloser im amerikanischen Rostgürtel lässt sich nicht davon überzeugen, dass die Globalisierung gut ist, nur weil dadurch viele Chinesen an Einkommen gewonnen haben» NZZ Interview mit David Dorn vom 2.7.2020 lesen

  • Die unheimliche Dominanz der Superstar-Firmen NZZ am Sonntag vom 27.6.2020 lesen

  • «Die USA haben mehr Jobs verloren als geschützt» SRF ECO Interview mit David Dorn vom 8.6.2020 schauen

  • Schuldenberg wegen Coronakrise SRF Interview mit David Dorn vom 29.5.2020 hören

  • Neue Ideen zum Umgang der Schweiz mit den Corona-Schulden NZZ vom 26.5.2020 lesen

  • Wie der Bund die Schulden wieder in den Griff kriegt Tagesanzeiger vom 23.5.2020 lesen

  • Ökonomieprofessor warnt: «Es ist problematisch zu sagen, die Restaurantbesitzer haben halt Pech gehabt» Luzernerzeitung Interview mit David Dorn vom 2.5.2020 lesen

  • Eingebettete Experten Weltwoche vom 29.4.2020 lesen

  • Wird aus der Marktwirtschaft nun eine Staatswirtschaft? SRF ECO Interview mit David Dorn vom 10.4.2020 lesen

  • Corona – A-fonds-perdu-Beiträge, nicht nur Kredite SRF ECO Interview mit David Dorn vom 6.4.2020 schauen

  • Wie die Volkswirtschaft überlebt Finanz und Wirtschaft Meinung von David Dorn vom 6.4.2020 lesen

  • Coronavirus: Schawinski Interview Radio 1 vom 27.03.2020 hören

  • Was die Ökonomen empfehlen Tagesanzeiger vom 26.03.2020 lesen

  • *Why are workers getting smaller pieces of the pie? MIT News 10.03.2020 read

  • David Dorn über die Wurzeln des Populismus SRF vom 12.11.2019 | Tagesgespräch hören

  • Schweiz muss wettbewerbsfähig sein Finanz und Wirtschaft 9.9.2019 (in German) read

  • Wirtschaft und Politik: Sie wollen das eine – und tun es dann doch nicht NZZ 6.9.2019 (in German) read

  • Why did the China shock hurt so much? The Economist 7.3.2019 read

  • Economics is not a zero-sum game Radio 1 podcast March 2019 (in German) listen

  • The downside of free trade SRF Info3 interview January 2019 (in German) listen

  • I rely on empirical data Bilanz January 2019 (in German) read

  • One year of trade war and no end Finanz und Wirtschaft December 2018 (in German) read

Quotes

Die Länder beginnen, vornehmlich mit befreundeten Ländern Handel zu treiben.
SRF Eco Talk, 26.2.2024
Wer als Ziel das Nullwachstum proklamiert, tut so, als ob man den Ist-Zustand einfach einfrieren könnte.
NZZaS, 18.11.2023
Die Ungleichheit ist in einem Ausmass grösser geworden, das man so nicht erwartet hat. Das ist der Kern der Globalisierungskrise.
UZH News, 1.11.2023
Wenn sich China zu grösseren und wiederkehrenden Lockdowns gezwungen sieht, kann das auch grössere Auswirkungen auf die Schweizer Exportwirtschaft haben.
Tagesanzeiger, 28.11.2021
Wenn es einem gut geht, bereitet man sich zu wenig auf schlechte Zeiten vor.
Luzernerzeitung, 7.11.2020
Ein Arbeitsloser im amerikanischen Rostgürtel lässt sich nicht davon überzeugen, dass die Globalisierung gut ist, nur weil dadurch viele Chinesen an Einkommen gewonnen haben.
NZZ, 2.7.2020
Die Afro-Amerikanischen Bürger sind von der Wirtschaftskrise aber auch von der medizinischen Krise besonders stark betroffen.
SRF «ECO», 8.6.2020
Es ist Unklug in Krisenzeiten zu sparen. Das schadet der Konjunktur.
SRF «Rendez-vous», 29.5.2020
Die Konkurswelle könnte weit über eine produktive, schöpferische Zerstörung hinausgehen. Diese Gefahr besteht. Es würden wirtschaftliche Strukturen zerstört, die eigentlich erhaltenswert sind.
Luzernerzeitung, 2.5.2020
Es geht natürlich darum hier Anreize zu haben, dass die Unternehmen versuchen, auch in der schwierigen Lage in der sie sind, möglichst gut zu Geschäften, möglichst Kosten zu vermeiden.
SRF ECO, 6.4.2020
Die aktuelle Krise unterscheidet sich jedoch deutlich von früheren Rezessionen. Betroffen sind nicht nur die schwächsten Branchen und Firmen, sondern auch viele Wirtschaftszweige und Unternehmen mit solidem Geschäftsmodellen und intakten Zukunftsperspektiven.
Rising trade does not necessarily lead to a balanced labor market impact where decreases in labor demand in some industries are offset by increases in labor demand in other industries.

Interviews and features

2014

Images

Contact

Personal

Phone:

+41 44 634 61 05

EMail:

david.dorn@econ.uzh.ch

Support Staff

Name:

Anne Sander

Phone:

+41 44 634 55 77

EMail:

anne.sander@econ.uzh.ch

Office hours:

Monday (08.00 - 15.00), Tuesday (08.00 - 15.00), Wednesday (08.00 - 12.00) and Friday (09.00 - 12:00)

Address

University of Zurich

Department of Economics, Schönberggasse 1, 8001 Zürich
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