Zitatform

Ottaviano, Gianmarco I. P., Giovanni Peri & Greg C. Wright (2010): Immigration, offshoring and American jobs. (NBER working paper 16439), Cambridge, Mass., 49 S. DOI:10.3386/w16439

Abstract

"How many 'American jobs' have U.S.-born workers lost due to immigration and offshoring? Or, alternatively, is it possible that immigration and offshoring, by promoting cost-savings and enhanced efficiency in firms, have spurred the creation of jobs for U.S. natives? We consider a multi-sector version of the Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg (2008) model with a continuum of tasks in each sector and we augment it to include immigrants with heterogeneous productivity in tasks. We use this model to jointly analyze the impact of a reduction in the costs of offshoring and of the costs of immigrating to the U.S. The model predicts that while cheaper offshoring reduces the share of natives among less skilled workers, cheaper immigration does not, but rather reduces the share of offshored jobs instead. Moreover, since both phenomena have a positive 'cost-savings' effect they may leave unaffected, or even increase, total native employment of less skilled workers. Our model also predicts that offshoring will push natives toward jobs that are more intensive in communication-interactive skills and away from those that are manual and routine intensive. We test the predictions of the model on data for 58 U.S. manufacturing industries over the period 2000-2007 and find evidence in favor of a positive productivity effect such that immigration has a positive net effect on native employment while offshoring has no effect on it. We also find some evidence that offshoring has pushed natives toward more communication-intensive tasks while it has pushed immigrants away from them." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Laaser, Claus-Friedrich & Klaus Schrader (2009): Offshoring von Arbeitsplätzen. Ein empirischer Befund für Deutschland. In: Aussenwirtschaft, Jg. 64, H. 2, S. 183-204.

Abstract

"Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, in welchem Ausmaß die Arbeitsplätze in Deutschland nach ihren unterschiedlichen beruflichen Profilen, Qualifikationen sowie Einkommensgruppen potenziell von einer Verlagerung an ausländische Standorte betroffen sein könnten. Die empirische Analyse auf Basis der deutschen Berufsordnungen zeigt, dass gemessen an der Zahl der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten mehr als 40 Prozent der Arbeitsplätze potenziell verlagerbar sind, deutlich mehr als in den Vereinigten Staaten und der Schweiz. Tendenziell sind überdurchschnittlich hoch entlohnte Tätigkeiten mit relativ hohen Qualifikationsanforderungen mindestens genauso leicht verlagerbar wie Arbeitsplätze von geringqualifizierten Niedriglohnbeziehern. Ländern mit einem relativ hohen Pro-Kopf-Einkommen wie Deutschland droht daher ein Verlust ihres Einkommensvorsprungs gegenüber den aufholenden Volkswirtschaften, wenn sie nicht ständig in ihre Humankapitalbasis investieren." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Wills, Jane (2009): Subcontracted employment and its challenge to labor. In: Labor Studies Journal, Jg. 34, H. 4, S. 441-460. DOI:10.1177/0160449X08324740

Abstract

"This article argues that subcontracted employment is becoming paradigmatic. This form of employment has stark consequences for traditional models of trade union organization that focus on collective bargaining with the employer. The article highlights the need for subcontracted workers to put pressure on the 'real employer' at the top of any contracting chain. Drawing on the lessons from community-union organizing efforts and, particularly, living wage campaigns, the article suggests that trade unions can effectively work with other social movements and allies in the community to secure the political leverage needed to change the terms and conditions of subcontracted employment. The article illustrates these arguments by exploring recent experience of the living wage campaign in London. The article draws on original research material from the Homerton Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London, to explore the progress of these living wage campaigns and their wider significance for labor organization." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Keuschnigg, Christian & Evelyn Ribi (2008): Outsourcing, unemployment and welfare policy. (CESifo working paper 2452), München, 32 S.

Abstract

"Outsourcing of labor intensive activities challenges the welfare state and undermines the protection of low-skilled workers. The stylized facts are that profits are concentrated among the high-skilled, involuntary unemployment is mostly among the low-skilled, and private unemployment insurance is missing. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of redistribution and insurance policies when heterogeneous firms can outsource labor intensive components to low-wage economies. The main results are: (i) Social insurance props up wages, leading to more outsourcing and unskilled unemployment. (ii) Redistribution from the skilled to the working poor acts as a wage subsidy to unskilled workers, thereby reducing gross wages, outsourcing and unemployment. (iii) A trend to outsourcing, induced by lower transport costs of imported components, depresses low-skilled wages, raises unemployment, and boosts profits. The resulting polarization of society and the increased income risk of unskilled workers emphasize the social gains from redistribution and insurance and thus call for a more active role of the welfare state in more open economies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Koskela, Erkki & Panu Poutvaara (2008): Flexible outsourcing and the impacts of labour taxation in European welfare states. (Helsinki Center of Economic Research. Discussion paper 227), Helsinki, 38 S.

Abstract

"In European Welfare States, lowskilled workers are typically unionized, while the wage formation of highskilled workers is more competitive. To focus on this aspect, we analyze how flexible international outsourcing and labour taxation affect wage formation, employment and welfare in dual domestic labour markets. Higher productivity of outsourcing and lower cost of outsourcing and lower factor price of outsourcing increase wage dispersion between the highskilled and lowskilled workers. Increasing wage tax progression of lowskilled workers decreases the wage rate and increases the labour demand of lowskilled workers. It decreases the welfare of lowskilled workers and increases both the welfare of highskilled workers and the profit of firms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Koskela, Erkki & Panu Poutvaara (2008): Flexible outsourcing and the impacts of labour taxation in European welfare states. (CESifo working paper 2440), München, 43 S.

Abstract

"In European Welfare States, lowskilled workers are typically unionized, while the wage formation of highskilled workers is more competitive. To focus on this aspect, we analyze how flexible international outsourcing and labour taxation affect wage formation, employment and welfare in dual domestic labour markets. Higher productivity of outsourcing and lower cost of outsourcing and lower factor price of outsourcing increase wage dispersion between the highskilled and lowskilled workers. Increasing wage tax progression of lowskilled workers decreases the wage rate and increases the labour demand of lowskilled workers. It decreases the welfare of lowskilled workers and increases both the welfare of highskilled workers and the profit of firms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Horgos, Daniel (2007): Labor market effects of international outsourcing. How measurement matters. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 58), Berlin, 32 S.

Abstract

"As regards labor market effects of International Outsourcing, empirical studies have difficulties in confirming theoretical results. The use of different indices adds to the puzzle. The paper examines whether measurement differences are one reason for the mismatch between empirical and theoretical findings. In fact, considering the properties of various outsourcing indices and applying a panel data estimation of the effects on the within industries' wage gap in Germany, theory and empirics can be reconciled: while the wage gap increases in the aggregate, the service sector and the high skill intensive industries, it decreases in the low skill intensive industries - which is in line with theoretical findings by Arndt (1997, 1998)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Schöller, Deborah (2007): Service offshoring and the demand for less-skilled labor. Evidence from Germany. (Hohenheimer Diskussionsbeiträge 287/2007), Stuttgart, 38 S.

Abstract

"Besides material offshoring, economists have started to analyze the impact of service offshoring on domestic employment. Services are of particular interest since their significance has grown in terms of both quantity and quality. One decade ago, most services were considered non-tradable, but the emergence of new information and communication technologies has contributed to overcoming geographical distance. The move towards the liberalization of international service trade has further accelerated this process. The empirical part of this paper first calculates German service offshoring intensities on a sectoral basis using input-output data. This measurement represents the proportion of imported service inputs used in home production. Germany's average service offshoring intensity more than doubled from 1991 to 2003. In a next step, the impact of service offshoring on the demand for heterogeneous labor in Germany is estimated at a sectoral level including 28 manufacturing sectors. The partial static equilibrium model is based on a variable unit cost function in the general translog form allowing for quasi-fixed input factors. Two different skill-levels are taken into account. The estimation results indicate that service offshoring reduced the relative demand for less-skilled labor in the German manufacturing sectors by on average -0.06 to -0.16% per year between 1991 and 2000." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Levy, Frank, Richard J. Murnane & Alan S. Blinder (2006): What sorts of rich-country jobs (and how many) are at risk to globalisation? In: CESifo forum, Jg. 7, H. 2, S. 38-40.

Abstract

Der Beitrag gibt zwei Auffassungen zur Frage, welche Arbeitsplätze durch Offshoring betroffen sind, wider. Die Autoren des ersten Beitrags (Frank Levy und Richard J. Murnane: For now, middle-skilled jobs are the most vulnerable) postulieren zwei Bedingungen, die für die Auslagerung von Arbeitsplätzen ins Ausland erfüllt sein müssen: Zum einen muss die Erbringung der Leistung ortsunabhängig sein, und zum anderen muss gewährleistet sein, dass relevante Informationen zwischen Auftraggeber und Auftragnehmer ohne Missverständnisse ausgetauscht werden können. Das zweite Kriterium wird als entscheidend erachtet für die Auslagerung vieler Arbeitsplätze mittlerer Qualifikation ins Ausland: Viele Tätigkeiten mittlerer Qualifikation sind repetitiv und regelbasiert (und damit Kandidaten für Automatisierung). Sowohl durch die genormte Arbeitsgestaltung, die klare Schnittstellen mit sich bringt, als auch aufgrund infomationstechnischer Voraussetzungen sind sie leicht auszulagern. Auf diese Auffassung bezieht sich der zweite Beitrag (Alan S. Blinder: Activities that do not require physical contact or georgraphical proximity are most at risk). Der Autor weist darauf hin, dass sich die Mengen der potentiell automatisierbaren Stellen und der potentiell ins Ausland verlagerbaren Stellen zwar nicht vollständig, aber in hohem Maße überscheiden: Jede routinisierte Tätigkeit, die weder physischen Kontakt noch geographische Nähe erfordert, ist ein Kandidat für Offshoring. Für die Industrieländer geht der Autor von sinkenden Löhnen für nicht-personenbezogene Dienstleistungen und von steigenden Löhnen für personenbezogen Dienstleistungen aus. (IAB)

Zitatform

Sinn, Hans-Werner (2006): Migration and social replacement incomes. How to protect low-income workers in the industrialized countries against the forces of globalization and market integration. (Munich economics. Electronic reprint 2006-02), München, 20 S.

Abstract

"This paper discusses how an industrialized country could defend the living standard of its unskilled workers against the wage competition from immigrants. It shows that fixing social replacement incomes implies migration into unemployment. Defending wages with replacement incomes brings about first order efficiency losses that approximate the budget cost of the government. By contrast, wage subsidies involve much smaller welfare losses. While the exclusion of migrants from a national wage replacement program does not avoid the distortions in labor migration, the (temporary) exclusion of migrants from a national wage subsidy program makes it possible to reach the first best migration pattern despite the preservation of the welfare state." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Engelmann, Sabine (2005): Internationaler Handel und der Arbeitsmarkt Sachsens: Sind niedrig qualifizierte Beschäftigte die Verlierer im Globalisierungsprozess? In: Ifo Dresden berichtet, Jg. 12, H. 4, S. 11-17.

Abstract

"Ein hohes Exportvolumen, niedriges Wirtschaftswachstum und steigende Arbeitslosenquoten der niedrig qualifizierten Erwerbsfähigen kennzeichnen seit langem die Wirtschaft Deutschlands. Für Sachsen sind ähnliche Trends beobachtbar. Diese Entwicklungen sind unter anderem eine Konsequenz der Globalisierung bei bestehenden rigiden Löhnen in Deutschland und werden unter dem Schlagwort 'Basarökonomie' zusammengefasst. Die Studie untersucht dieses Phänomen für Sachsen und gibt Antwort, inwieweit Sachsens Unternehmen die Kostenvorteile aus Produktionsverlagerungen ins Ausland nutzen und welche Folgen dies für den sächsischen Arbeitsmarkt hat." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Geishecker, Ingo (2005): International outsourcing and German manufacturing wages. In: Schmollers Jahrbuch, Jg. 125, H. 1, S. 87-95.

Abstract

Der Zusammenhang zwischen Outsourcing ins Ausland und der Lohnentwicklung wird auf der Basis von SOEP-Daten, die mit wirtschaftszweigspezifischen Informationen über Outsourcing kombiniert werden, untersucht. Im Unterschied zur gängigen Unterscheidung zwischen Arbeitern und Angestellen werden auch Daten über das Bildungsniveau mit einbezogen, um genauer zwischen verschiedenen Qualifikationsniveaus zu unterscheiden. Während kein Einfluss von Outsourcing auf die Löhne von Arbeitern und Angestellten nachgewiesen werden kann, zeigt sich jedoch ein solcher Einfluss, wenn man feinere Qualifikationsdefinitionen anwendet: Ein Anstieg von einem Prozentpunkt führt zu einer Senkung der Reallöhne von 1,7 Prozent für niedrig Qualifizierte und für hoch Qualifizierte zu einem Anstieg der Reallöhne um 2,2 Prozentpunkte. (IAB)

Zitatform

Strauss-Kahn, Vanessa (2005): Firms' location decision across asymmetric countries and employment inequality. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 49, H. 2, S. 299-320. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2003.12.008

Abstract

"This paper analyzes the effect of globalization (lower trade costs) on production and trade patterns if, firms are vertically linked, stages of production differ in labor-factors intensity and countries differ in labor-factors prices. In order to reflect the 'Continental Europe' experience, relative wages are assumed fixed and spatial changes in production are translated into changes in relative (skilled to unskilled) employment levels. The asymmetry in factors prices across countries results in a unique agglomeration equilibrium for a broad range of trade costs. At low trade costs, firms' location depends on production costs-vertical specialization occurs. This paper also provides a consistent explanation of the observed increase in employment inequality between skilled and unskilled workers in relatively high-unskilled wage countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Verlagerungen von Arbeitsplätzen ins Ausland führen kaum zu Beschäftigungsverlusten in Europa. So lautet das Ergebnis des von Euroframe, dem Zusammenschluss zehn führender europäischer Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitute, veröffentlichten Frühjahrsreports 2005. Demnach überwiegen die Vorteile von Jobverlagerungen die Nachteile bei weitem. Outsourcing ist nur zu einem geringen Teil Ursache für die Verschlechterung der Situation auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Von Jobverlagerungen ins Ausland sind insbesondere niedrig qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte in arbeitsintensiven Sektoren betroffen, die mit denen in Niedriglohnländern konkurrieren. Weil der Lohn in den unteren Lohngruppen bei uns weit über dem Niveau dieser Länder liegt, kann hier zu wettbewerbsfähigen Preisen kaum noch produziert werden. Hinzu kommt, dass ein Teil der Jobverlagerungen nicht durch Niedriglohnkonkurrenz motiviert ist, sondern durch den Wunsch neue Absatzmärkte zu erschließen. Gelingt dies, werden auch hier Arbeitsplätze gesichert und - in wissensintensiven Bereichen - geschaffen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Malchow-Moller, Nikolaj & Jan Rose Skaksen (2003): Skill-biased technological change in Denmark. A disaggregate perspective. (IZA discussion paper 752), Bonn, 19 S.

Abstract

"In this paper, we provide an industry-level analysis of skill-biased technological change (SBTC) in Denmark over the last two decades. The analysis shows that SBTC has varied considerably across industries, and traditionally large Danish industries have experienced relatively less SBTC. This may partly explain why wage inequality between skilled and less skilled has risen less in Denmark than in other countries. We also find that SBTC has been concentrated in already skill-intensive industries. This contains important information about future labour requirements, as the relative importance of these industries must be expected to grow, thereby reinforcing the shift in demand for skilled labour." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))