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Off-Shoring of Business Services and Deindustrialization: Threat or Opportunity - and for Whom?

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  • Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric

Abstract

This paper takes a new look at the issue of overseas sourcing of services. In framework in which comparative advantage is endogenous to agglomeration economies and factor mobility, the fragmentation of production made possible by the new communication technologies and low transportation costs allow global firms (multinational corporations or individual firms active in global networks) to simultaneously reap the benefit of agglomeration economies in OECD countries and of low wages prevailing in countries with an ever better educated labour force like India. Thus, the reduction of employment in some routine tasks in rich countries in a general equilibrium helps sustain and reinforces employment in the core competencies in such countries. That is, the loss of some jobs permits to retain the 'core competencies' in the 'core countries'. The welfare implications of this analysis are shown to be not as straightforward as in a neoclassical world.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 5617.

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Date of creation: Apr 2006
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5617

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Keywords: communication costs; outsourcing; wage inequality;

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Cited by:
  1. Miren Lafourcade & Jacques-François Thisse, 2008. "New economic geography: A guide to transport analysis," PSE Working Papers halshs-00586878, HAL.
  2. repec:hal:wpaper:halshs-00586878 is not listed on IDEAS

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