Services Offshoring And Its Impact On The Labor Market

Services – from information technology to research to finance – are now as subject to international trade as goods have been for decades. What are the labor market consequences of the recent surge in services offshoring? While offshoring has traditionally been found to affect only less-skilled workers in industrialized countries, this study finds that services offshoring also has negative consequences for high-skilled workers. Focusing on the case of Germany, Deborah Winkler shows how services offshoring has grown, who is most affected and what policy makers can do. Winkler measures the impact of services offshoring on German productivity, employment, and employment structure. She provides a well-balanced synthesis of theoretical insights, detailed empirical analysis, and economic policy recommendations. Although her main focus is on the case of Germany, many insights are also applicable to other developed countries.

Much attention has focused on the offshoringÓ of services to lower-wage locations abroad. Offshoring generally refers to an org. purchase of goods or services from abroad that were previously produced domestically. Extensive public debate has arisen about both the potential benefits of services offshoring, such as lower consumer prices & higher U.S. productivity, as well as the potential costs, such as increased job displacement for selected U.S. workers. This report: provides an overview of experts' views on the potential impacts of services offshoring; describes the types of policies that have been proposed in response to offshoring; & highlights some key areas where add'l. research might help advance the debate about offshoring. Illus.

This report defines offshoring in detail, describes the wide-ranging effects that offshoring can have on employment both positively and negatively, and outlines the policy implications, suggesting ways to limit the downside of offshoring while building trust among stakeholders.

The Oxford Handbook of Offshoring and Global Employment deals with a key issue of our time: How do globalization, economic growth and technological developments interact to impact employment? The book brings together eminent authors from a wide range of countries around the world, drawing on their diverse academic and policymaking backgrounds, and specific national or regional settings to assess how global economic changes have affected employment opportunities. The book is unique in a number of ways - It has a global reach, presenting analyses and viewpoints from both developed and developing countries, from all continents; its timing and context is particularly instructive, since most papers are located in the aftermath of the global financial crisis; and it addresses a wide range of questions-How do different types of offshoring and global linkages impact employment? How is the skill mix of the labor force impacted by globalization? How do institutional structures and regulations influence the outcome of globalization in developed and developing countries? Individual chapters analyze how the impact of global linkages on national economies is mediated through a number of structural aspects of the economy - its institutional and industrial structure, its resource base, its predominant firm type, its comparative advantage, and its regulatory practices. The chapters in the book cover both manufacturing and services sectors, and many chapters also address policy issues regarding innovation and job creation.

A pesar de que los procesos de deslocalización (offshoring) no son un fenómeno del todo nuevo, la forma en que se llevan a cabo sí que lo es. El objetivo de este libro es ayudar a los directivos de empresa a tratar con los retos organizativos derivados del auge de la deslocalización que ahora nos espera.En vista de las dificultades de obtener un índice o medida directa sobre la deslocalización, de la heterogeneidad de las fuentes disponibles, y de la falta de consenso en torno a la terminología utilizada, este estudio se basa en gran medida en los datos recientes de la OCDE y la ORN (una red de investigación a la que pertenecen los autores), así como en informes sobre la inversión extranjera directa. El estudio se ofrece como una guía a los tres grandes grupos de interés implicados. En primer lugar, advierte a los gobiernos de no obstaculizar "el proceso económico natural" que el fenómeno significa. En segundo lugar, aconseja a las empresas a visualizar a la deslocalización como una parte integral de la estrategia global. Y en tercer lugar, resalta la necesidad de flexibilidad y formación para aquellos trabajadores que han podido verse afectados por el fenómeno de la deslocalización.Este libro se dirige fundamentalmente a aquellos investigadores en el campo de las instituciones, a los decisores de política, y a los directivos del sector privado, que puedan tener cierto interés en los recientes procesos de deslocalización, y en la creencia de que el mismo les pueda ser útil para el desarrollo de las estrategias adecuadas a escala mundial.

This paper estimates the effects of offshoring on productivity in U.S. manufacturing industries between 1992 and 2000, using instrumental variables estimation to address the potential endogeneity of offshoring. It finds that service offshoring has a significant positive effect on productivity in the US, accounting for around 11 percent of productivity growth during this period. Offshoring material inputs also has a positive effect on productivity, but the magnitude is smaller accounting for approximately 5 percent of productivity growth. There is a small negative effect of less than half a percent on employment when industries are finely disaggregated (450 manufacturing industries). However, this affect disappears at more aggregate industry level of 96 industries indicating that there is sufficient growth in demand in other industries within these broadly defined classifications to offset any negative effects.

This collection of papers examines key trends in the internationalisation of employment, drawing on the proceedings of an ILO conference held in Annecy, France in April 2005. The papers focus on three related issues: the impacts of trade and investment abroad, including the offshoring of production of goods and services, and effects on the winners and losers in terms of employment; adjustment methods for coping with the short and medium term problems related to the globalisation of employment; and the importance of international instruments to help ensure a level playing field in trade and promote development, drawing on established rights and international labour standards.

"The conference held to discuss intiial versions of the chapters .. " -- p. vii.