Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 09/2014

Off-Shoring: New Challenges and Opportunities in an Expanding Global Economy

February 2007

The National Academy of Public Administration

Abstract

The impact of shifting U.S. business operations to foreign countries on the nation’s workforce and economy is not a new or unstudied issue. For decades, it has been central to the debate about the benefits and costs of economic growth and trade expansion. However, this debate has not produced consensus on the magnitude and significance of off-shoring, which occurs when companies contract out activities abroad, either to their own affiliates or to other firms.