Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10242
Authors: Sascha O. Becker; Marc-Andreas Muendler
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. 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.
Keywords: Demand for Labour; Labour Force Survey; Offshoring; Trade in Tasks
JEL Codes: F14; F16; J23; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| globalization (F60) | German economy (N14) |
| trade flows (F10) | task composition (L23) |
| imports of intermediate inputs (F14) | German economy (N14) |
| German workforce specialization in non-offshorable activities (L69) | trade dynamics (F14) |
| imputed activity content of imports (F14) | offshorable work characteristics (L24) |
| unionization rates in Germany (J53) | task offshoring (L24) |