A new methodology is proposed for evaluating the economic development opportunities associated with the different industries making up a country’s economic structure. To this end, neo-Schumpeterian concepts are used to reinterpret the tools afforded by the “product space” literature in an attempt to assess the technological pervasiveness and sophistication of different production sectors. The ultimate objective is to develop a description of today’s techno-productive paradigm and the differential role that the various sectors play in it. An analysis of export data from 113 countries and territories for 2005-2009 indicates that the key sectors in the world economy are: industrial machinery, scientific and medical instruments, and pharmaceuticals. The strong performance of sectors based on mature technologies suggests that key sectors originating in different stages in history can survive and overlap one another, much like geological strata, owing to the persistence of older technological systems.