Functional specialization in trade
Date: | 30 November 2018 |
![Functional specialization index in advanced countries](/ggdc/blog/functional-specialization-in-trade-30-11-2018!attachment?c=images/blog-image-normal.jpg&id=240502003004)
Marcel Timmer and Gaaitzen de Vries, together with the OECD's Sébastien Miroudot, have published a paper in the Journal of Economic Geography on functional specialization in trade. They propose a new measure that describes in what type of activities a country specializes, given its export pattern and the type of occupations in industries that contribute to those exports. This shows, for example, how higher-income countries specialise more in research and development (R&D) activities and less in fabrication activities. Such statistics can help to better understand the potential for (regional) economic development under global integration.
Tags: Publication, WIOD