The Occupation Content of Trade

Abstract This paper develops new data to track the occupation content of trade. These data are based on measuring the value-added exports of workers cross-classified by their industry of work as well as their occupational class, in short by “task.” Countries initially specialize along the extensive margin (shifting exports of value added across industries) and later on along the intensive margin (shifting export income across occupations within industries). Path dependency is strong in the early phase of development, as new task specializations are closely related to the initial task export basket, but this dependence weakens afterwards. Leveraging the new data holds great promise in delivering deeper insights into patterns of trade, structural change, and economic development.