The Changing Global Division of Labor in Software: Emergence and Diffusion of New Programming Skills across IT Hubs
How new programming skills emerge in tech hubs then spread worldwide
New software skills consistently emerge first in a small number of global tech hubs with strong, diverse developer communities before spreading to smaller cities—following the same geographic patterns as traditional industries despite being entirely digital. Cities tend to develop new skills related to ones they already specialize in, and related existing skills in a city make it far more likely to adopt brand-new skills early.
Software development is geographically concentrated in ways that matter for economic opportunity: if you're a developer outside major tech hubs, the skills you can learn—and the timing you learn them—depends on your city's existing specialization. Understanding these patterns could help policymakers and companies identify where emerging technologies will take hold and which regions risk falling behind as new skills become essential.