Structural Changes in International Trade - who gain, who lose?

This paper focuses on the structural changes in OECD trade between 1961 and 1983. It is shown that trade in R&D- intensive products, based on relatively recent innovations, grew much faster than trade in other products. This caused the structure of OECD trade to change in a way most favorable for the technologically most advanced countries of the OECD area. But diffusion of technology at the same time provided countries on a lower level of technological and economic development with the opportunity of increasing market shares through structural change (adaptation), imitation and exploitation of cost advantages. In general, the latter type of effects outweighed the former. The main losers in this process were countries with a high level of income and costs, but a low level of innovative activity.