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Trade and tasks : an exploration over three decades in Germany
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Becker, Sascha O. and Muendler, Marc-Andreas (2015) Trade and tasks : an exploration over three decades in Germany. Economic Policy, 30 (84). pp. 589-641. ISSN 0266-4658.
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Becker Muendler 2015 EP 30(84) Trade and Tasks - An Exploration over Three Decades in Germany.pdf - Published Version Embargoed item. Restricted access to Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (878Kb) |
Official URL: https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/ecpoli/v30y2015i84p5...
Abstract
This paper combines representative worker-level data that cover time-varying job-level task characteristics of an economy over several decades with sector-level bilateral trade data for merchandise 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: (1) intermediate inputs constitute a major share of imports and dominate German imports since at least the 1970s; (2) 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; (3) the imputed activity and job requirement content of German imports grows relatively more intensive in work characteristics typically considered offshorable; and (4) 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.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) | ||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Economic Policy | ||||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||||
ISSN: | 0266-4658 | ||||||
Official Date: | 1 October 2015 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 30 | ||||||
Number: | 84 | ||||||
Page Range: | pp. 589-641 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 12 August 2016 |
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