Is Outsourcing Really as Bad as it is Made to Sound? A Re-Assessment and Some Perspective

24 Pages Posted: 18 Oct 2004

See all articles by Meenakshi Rishi

Meenakshi Rishi

Seattle University

Sweta C. Saxena

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - Monetary and Economic Department

Date Written: September 2004

Abstract

The debate on outsourcing of skilled jobs to India has recently picked up steam and has become a hot election-year issue. Bills put forth in almost twenty five states have provisions that seek to limit the outsourcing trend. This paper visits some issues concerning outsourcing in order to provide nuance to some of the rhetoric. In particular, we discuss the US-India outsourcing history and reassess the key questions surrounding the subject. We provide empirical evidence in order to support our main argument - that outsourcing has been going on for a while and that the risk to US job growth due to outsourcing is exaggerated. As framing the debate in strictly economic terms is difficult given that there are "real" winners and "real" losers caught in the crosstalk, the paper seeks to offer recommendations to help ease the socio-economic impact of outsourcing.

Keywords: Outsourcing, India, presidential elections, trade in services

Suggested Citation

Rishi, Meenakshi and Saxena, Sweta Chaman, Is Outsourcing Really as Bad as it is Made to Sound? A Re-Assessment and Some Perspective (September 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=605802 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.605802

Meenakshi Rishi

Seattle University ( email )

901 12th Ave
Broadway
Seattle, WA 98122
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206-296-2078 (Phone)

Sweta Chaman Saxena (Contact Author)

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - Monetary and Economic Department ( email )

Centralbahnplatz 2
CH-4002 Basel
Switzerland

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