Off-Shoring: An Elusive Phenomenon

This is the first of several reports by an Academy Panel formed to assess off-shoring, including the adequacy of current data and their usefulness in ascertaining its extent and economic effects.

Off-shoring business operations is a difficult, elusive and exceedingly complex phenomenon. It produces myriad and widespread economic impacts, with U.S. employment and workers’ earnings being among the most sensitive. Concerns about off-shoring are not new. For decades they have been central to the debate over the benefits and costs of economic growth and trade expansion.