Offshoring of Jobs: Empirical results for Germany (original publication German only)

The paper deals with the potential offshorability of German jobs of different occupational profiles, qualifications and income levels. The empirical analysis applies a detailed data set of German employees liable for social insurance grouped by occupation. It reveals that more than 40 per cent of German jobs could be offshored to foreign locations, a far greater share than in the United States or Switzerland. On average, highly remunerated jobs requiring high qualifications turn out to be as easily offshorable as those of less qualified low-wage employees. Under these circumstances, high-income countries face the risk losing ground vis-à-vis catching-up economies, if they fail to invest into their knowledge and skill base continuously.