Changing trade pattern, ICT, and employment: Evidence across countries

Why should I care about exporting more or less number of products? Should I go to more international markets for exports or not? How do both strategies effect employment? Is ICT replacing labor or augmenting it? Mr. Manish Kumar Sharma and Dr. Anwesha Aditya explore how export diversification and ICT impact aggregate and skill–level employment.

The developing countries trying to achieve maximum gains from globalization should be careful about the shocks and uncertainties arising in the global economy and aim to formulate policies to leverage the shocks. One way to achieve this would be by diversifying their trade basket both in terms of product and destination.

Besides the changing pattern of world trade, another important breakthrough over the last few decades has been the technological advancement in Information and Communication Technologies.

However, the impact of changing trade structure (in terms of diversification of exports) and ICT on employment (aggregate and skill level) is not explored enough. Mr. Manish and Dr. Anwesha Aditya explain the same through this empirical study and bring out important implications for international trade economists, multilateral development banks and global governments.

The main contribution of this paper is that it brings out the importance of setting trade policies for countries keeping in mind their differently skilled labor and thus use the trade pattern accordingly in their favor to create more employment opportunities. It also brings out the impact of ICT in terms of voice communication by Mobile and use of internet on skilled and unskilled employment, giving important insights for both separately. Thus, the authors have touched upon an unexplored part of international trade and employment nexus.

The paper is published in the Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy.

More information:
Manish Kumar Sharma et al, Changing Trade Pattern, ICT, and Employment: Evidence Across Countries, Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (2023). DOI: 10.1142/S1793993323500096

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