OFFSHORING
Just The Bright Side, Thanks
After holding off for more than a year, the Commerce Dept. has quietly
released a study of offshoringothe movement of white-collar jobs to
low-wage countries. But it's not the even-handed assessment
completed by
staff analysts in June, 2004, after six months of research. The staff
report was largely ditched, say outside experts who heard the
staffers'
views. Instead, these critics charge, Commerce political appointees
put
out a 12-page report that portrays offshoring as an unconditional boon
to the U.S. economy. After BusinessWeek's print edition went to
press on
Oct. 5, the Commerce Dept. responded by saying: "In carefully
developing
the report, we sought to ensure that it was thorough, objective and
that
the competitive environment was properly assessed and supported by
hard
data."
Commerce has only released its final report to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.)
who ordered it up, but BusinessWeek has obtained a copy, as well as a
slide show tied to the original research, presented by staffers at a
conference last December.
The staff researchers' presentation gave both the pros and cons,
comparing factors that favor U.S. high-tech job growth with those that
favor offshoring. The official version dispenses with most of the
disadvantages. Instead it points to pro-offshoring studies done by
McKinsey Global Institute and uncritically cites data from a lobbying
group that represents the U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies. "No
objective analysts, even if they were in favor of outsourcing, would
write a report like this," says Ron Hira, a professor at Rochester
Institute of Technology, who saw the December presentation. To see the
slide show and official report, go to www.businessweek.com/extras
By Aaron Bernstein
Back to Top
Online Extra: The Commerce Dept.'s Official Offshoring Report
Here's the department's full-length "Six-Month Assessment of Workforce
Globallization In Certain Knowledge-Based Industries. To read the
report, click here.
Back to Top
Online Extra: Commerce Staffers' Original Offshoring Report
Here's the original presentation prepared by Commerce Dept.
researchers, with pros and cons for the U.S. workforce. To view the
slide show, click here
<http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/10/commercebriefing/index.htm>
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