Maxted, Jason2017-10-112017-10-112016http://hdl.handle.net/2440/108435This item is only available electronically.This thesis investigates the in uence that international trade exposure has on the com- position of the labour force in the manufacturing sector in Australia between 2008 and 2013. In particular we investigate whether the phenomenon of job polarisation is present within the industry, and whether increased trade exposure contributes to this. Thus we have had to carefully map employment data with trade data. Our panel data xed e ects estimation suggests that job polarisation does not exist within the manufacturing sector. This does not rule out its existence when accounting for the entire labour force however. The most significant finding is that increased exposure to trade leads to a movement of labour down the wage distribution. Such a finding has the potential to have significant policy implications.enHonours; EconomicsThesis