Offshoring and the labour market: What are the issues?
Source: Novella Bottini, Carlo Cattaneo University-LIUC, Italy; Christoph Ernst, Economic and Labour Market Analysis Department, International Labour Office; Malte Luebker, Policy Integration and Statistics Department, International Labour Office; International Labour Organization.
This paper reviews some of the issues brought forward in the debate on offshoring. It defines the term clearly and draws the border between offshoring and related terms. The study also identifies the forces that drive offshoring, the tasks that are most susceptible to relocation, and the most likely destinations. A more technical section presents the tools and the available data to measure offshoring and its consequences. Special focus will be given to the impact of offshoring on employment and inequality, both in the countries that offshore and those that host offshored activities.