Trade and Tasks: An Exploration Over Three Decades in Germany

89 Pages Posted: 14 Jan 2015

See all articles by Sascha O. Becker

Sascha O. Becker

Monash University - Department of Economics; University of Warwick

Marc-Andreas Muendler

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

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Date Written: December 29, 2014

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.

Keywords: trade in tasks, offshoring, demand for labour, labour force survey

JEL Classification: F16, F14, J23, J24

Suggested Citation

Becker, Sascha O. and Muendler, Marc-Andreas, Trade and Tasks: An Exploration Over Three Decades in Germany (December 29, 2014). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 5122, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2548986 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2548986

Sascha O. Becker

Monash University - Department of Economics ( email )

Wellington Road
Clayton, Victoria 3
Australia

University of Warwick ( email )

Gibbet Hill Rd.
Coventry, West Midlands CV4 8UW
United Kingdom

Marc-Andreas Muendler (Contact Author)

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
United States
858-534-4799 (Phone)
858-534-7040 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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