## Structural Transformation and the sophistication of Production

_IMF Working Papers, February 1, 2012_

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Nikola Spatafora, Rahul Anand, Saurabh Mishra
- Published: February 1, 2012
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781463937775.001

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### Overview and dataset insights
- Authors: Nikola Spatafora, Rahul Anand, Saurabh Mishra
- Publication date: February 1, 2012
- Type: IMF Working Paper (Working Paper No. 2012/059, Issue: 059)
- Pages: 51
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781463937775.001
- Stock No: WPIEA2012059
- ISBN: 9781463937775
- ISSN: 1018-5941

- A new dataset on export sophistication shows that in many countries:
  - The importance of modern services has increased over time.
  - The sophistication of manufactured exports has increased over time.
  - The sophistication of service exports has increased over time.
- The upward trend in export sophistication was less pronounced in LICs.

### Key findings on growth and sophistication
- Sophisticated sectors are more likely to catalyze broad-based economic growth, rather than remain isolated enclaves, when the following conditions hold:
  - The economy is liberalized.
  - The exchange rate is not overvalued.
  - There are good information flows.
- Prerequisites for developing sophisticated goods and services include:
  - An educated workforce.
  - External liberalization.
  - Good information flows.
- Sector-specific policy complementarities:
  - For goods: Appropriate macroeconomic policy is particularly important.
  - For services: Skilled labor and good information flows are particularly important.

### Subject coverage and keywords
- Subject areas: Economic sectors, Export performance, Exports, Human capital, International trade, Labor, Manufacturing, Service exports
- Keywords: export basket, Export performance, export sophistication, Exports, exports of goods, Global, goods export, Human capital, Manufacturing, resource export, service export, Service Exports, Sophistication of Production, Structural Transformation, WP

*IMF Working Paper: "Structural Transformation and the sophistication of Production" by Nikola Spatafora, Rahul Anand, and Saurabh Mishra (February 1, 2012), Working Paper No. 2012/059.*

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