A query to those worried about outsourcing

The lion’s share of the critical feedback I’ve received from “The Outsourcing Bogeyman” essay has been targeted at my claims about the IT sector. I’m supposedly wrong on the IT side of the equation, and therefore better-paying jobs will follow lower-paying jobs overseas. What’s interesting is that I haven’t heard much discussion about either the ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

The lion's share of the critical feedback I've received from "The Outsourcing Bogeyman" essay has been targeted at my claims about the IT sector. I'm supposedly wrong on the IT side of the equation, and therefore better-paying jobs will follow lower-paying jobs overseas. What's interesting is that I haven't heard much discussion about either the manufacturing part of the story or the business processes part of the story. Does this mean people are willing to acknowledge that these are sectors where standard trade theory apply? [Now you're just goading your critics--ed. No, just curious -- plus, it might make a good article about public perceptions of economics.]

The lion’s share of the critical feedback I’ve received from “The Outsourcing Bogeyman” essay has been targeted at my claims about the IT sector. I’m supposedly wrong on the IT side of the equation, and therefore better-paying jobs will follow lower-paying jobs overseas. What’s interesting is that I haven’t heard much discussion about either the manufacturing part of the story or the business processes part of the story. Does this mean people are willing to acknowledge that these are sectors where standard trade theory apply? [Now you’re just goading your critics–ed. No, just curious — plus, it might make a good article about public perceptions of economics.]

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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