Criss-Crossing Globalization: Uphill Flows Of Skill- Intensive Goods And Foreign Direct Investment

This paper documents an unusual and possibly significant phenomenon: the export of skills embodied in goods, services, or capital from poorer to richer countries. The authors first present a set of stylized facts. Using a measure that combines the sophistication of a country's exports with the average income level of destination countries, the authors show that the performance of a number of developing countries, notably China, Mexico, and South Africa, matches that of much more advanced countries, such as Japan, Spain, and the United States.