Trade and Tasks: An Exploration over Three Decades in Germany

Sascha Becker and Marc-Andreas Muendler

No 20739, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper combines representative worker-level data that cover time-varying job-level task characteristics of an economy over a long time span with sector-level bilateral trade data for merchandize and services. We carefully create longitudinally consistent workplace characteristics from the German Qualification and Career Survey 1979-2006 and prepare trade flow statistics from varying sources. Four main facts emerge: (i) intermediate inputs constitute a major share of imports, and their relevance grows especially in the early decade; (ii) the German workforce increasingly specializes in workplace activities and job requirements that are typically considered non-offshorable, mainly within and not between sectors and occupations; (iii) the imputed activity and job requirement content of German imports grows relatively more intensive in work characteristics typically considered offshorable; and (iv) labour-market institutions at German trade partners are largely unrelated to the changing task content of German imports but German sector-level outcomes exhibit some covariation consistent with faster task offshoring in sectors exposed to lower labour-market tightness. We discuss policy implications of these findings.

JEL-codes: F14 F16 J23 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-int and nep-lma
Note: ITI LS
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published as Sascha O. Becker & Marc-Andreas Muendler, 2015. "Trade and tasks: an exploration over three decades in Germany," Economic Policy, Volume 30, Issue 84, Pp. 589 - 641

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Related works:
Journal Article: Trade and tasks: an exploration over three decades in Germany (2015)
Working Paper: Trade and tasks: an exploration over three decades in Germany (2015)
Working Paper: Trade and Tasks: An Exploration over Three Decades in Germany (2014)
Working Paper: Trade and Tasks: An Exploration over Three Decades in Germany (2014)
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