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From Ghana to America: The Skill Content of Jobs and Economic Development

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  • Lo Bello, Salvatore
  • Sanchez Puerta, Maria Laura
  • Winkler, Hernan

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature exploring the skill content ofjobs. This article contributes to this research by using data on thetask content of occupations from developing countries, instead of US data as most existing studies do. It finds that US-based indexes do not provide a fair approximation of the levels, changes and drivers of the routine cognitive and non-routine manual skill content of jobs in developing countries. The authors also uncover three new stylized facts. First, while developed countries tend to have jobsmore intensive in non-routine cognitive skills than developing ones, income (both in growth and levels) is not associated with the skill content of jobs once other factors are accounted for. Second,while ICT adoption is linked to job de-routinization, international trade is an off setting force. Last, ICT adoption is correlated with lower employment growth in countries with a high share of occupations intensive in routine tasks.

Suggested Citation

  • Lo Bello, Salvatore & Sanchez Puerta, Maria Laura & Winkler, Hernan, 2019. "From Ghana to America: The Skill Content of Jobs and Economic Development," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 30800360, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:jbsgrp:30800360
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    1. repec:rim:rimwps:19-15 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Piotr Lewandowski & Albert Park & Simone Schotte, 2020. "The global distribution of routine and non-routine work," IBS Working Papers 06/2020, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    3. de la Vega, Pablo & Porto, Natalia & Cerimelo, Manuela, 2024. "Going green: estimating the potential of green jobs in Argentina," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 58, pages 1-001.
    4. Caitlin Allen Whitehead & Haroon Bhorat & Robert Hill & Tim Köhler & François Steenkamp, 2021. "The Potential Employment Implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies: The Case of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector," Working Papers 202106, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    5. Mohit Sharma & Sargam Gupta & Xavier Estupinan, 2020. "An alternate to survey methods to measure work from home," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2020-028, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    6. Vona, Francesco, "undated". "Skills and human capital for the low-carbon transition in developing and emerging economies," FEEM Working Papers 338778, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    7. Pawel Gmyrek & Hernan Winkler & Santiago Garganta, 2024. "Buffer or Bottleneck? Employment Exposure to Generative AI and the Digital Divide in Latin America," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0340, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    8. Francesco Vona, 2023. "Skills and human capital for the low-carbon transition in developing and emerging economies," Working Papers 2023.19, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    9. Gottlieb, Charles & Grobovšek, Jan & Poschke, Markus & Saltiel, Fernando, 2021. "Working from home in developing countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Julieta Caunedo & Elisa Keller & Yongseok Shin, 2023. "Technology and the Task Content of Jobs across the Development Spectrum," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 37(3), pages 479-493.
    11. Maddalena Honorati & Indhira Santos & Indhira Santos, 2024. "Investing in Skills to Accelerate Job Transitions," World Bank Publications - Reports 42103, The World Bank Group.
    12. Daniel Garrote Sanchez & Nicolas Gomez Parra & Caglar Ozden & Bob Rijkers & Mariana Viollaz & Hernan Winkler, 2021. "Who on Earth Can Work from Home? [Secular Stagnation? The Effect of Aging on Economic Growth in the Age of Automation]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 67-100.
    13. Delaporte, Isaure & Peña, Werner, 2023. "The Dynamics of Labour Market Polarization in Chile: An Analysis of the Link Between Technical Change and Informality," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1262, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Guido Matias Cortes1 & Diego M. Morris, 2020. "Are routine jobs moving south? Evidence from changes in the occupational structure of employment in the USA and Mexico," WIDER Working Paper Series wp2020-11, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Cunningham,Wendy & Moroz,Harry Edmund & Muller,Noel & Solatorio,Aivin Vicquierra, 2022. "The Demand for Digital and Complementary Skills in Southeast Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10070, The World Bank.
    16. Jeisson Cárdenas & Jaime Montana & Derek Bosworth, 2021. "Which Workers are Most Exposed to covid -19 and Social Distancing Effects in a Dual Labour Market?," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, vol. 24(2).
    17. Nxumalo, Mpumelelo Author-Name: Raju, Dhushyanth, "undated". "Structural Transformation and Labor Market Performance in Ghana," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 154568, The World Bank.
    18. Delaporte, Isaure & Peña, Werner, 2025. "The dynamics of disappearing routine jobs in Chile: An analysis of the link between deroutinisation and informality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    19. Carlos Gradín & Simone Schotte, 2020. "Implications of the changing nature of work for employment and inequality in Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-119, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Janneke Pieters & Ana Kujundzic & Rulof Burger & Joel Gondwe, 2025. "Inequality at risk of automation? Gender differences in routine tasks intensity in developing country labor markets," Papers 2504.07689, arXiv.org.
    21. Zarrilli Joaquín & Porto Natalia & De la Vega Pablo & García Carolina Inés, 2025. "Towards a twin transition in tourism in Latin America," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4846, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    22. Inés Berniell & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni & Mariana Viollaz, 2023. "The role of children and work-from-home in gender labor market asymmetries: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1191-1214, December.
    23. Antonio Martins-Neto & Nanditha Mathew & Pierre Mohnen & Tania Treibich, 2024. "Is There Job Polarization in Developing Economies? A Review and Outlook," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 39(2), pages 259-288.
    24. Hatayama,Maho & Viollaz,Mariana & Winkler,Hernan Jorge, 2020. "Jobs' Amenability to Working from Home : Evidence from Skills Surveys for 53 Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9241, The World Bank.

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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