Japan and Her Dealings with Offshoring: An Empirical Analysis with Aggregate Data

Abstract

First moves towards a real understanding of the offshoring phenomenon date back only to very recent times, with employment and productivity effects occupying much of the literature around the subject. In particular for Japan, the studies conducted so far focus on the disaggregate level and put the stress on the productivity side alone. Here I analyze both the employment and the productivity effects at the aggregate industry level, covering the years 1980-2005. Moreover, I consider all industries within the economy and take account of both materials and services offshoring. The results presented here suggest that we should expect a positive effect of services offshoring on employment, and a positive effect of materials offshoring on the growth rate of productivity.

Keywords: Japan, offshoring, employment, productivity

JEL Classification: F16, J23, O47