Offshoring under Uncertainty
41 Pages Posted: 1 Oct 2018
Date Written: August 02, 2018
Abstract
We develop a theoretical framework to explain firms’ offshoring decisions in the presence of uncertainty. This model highlights the role of labor market institutions in shaping a firm’s ability to effectively react upon future shocks, yielding a sharp prediction of the prevalence of offshoring in a given industry: The propensity of firms to source intermediate inputs from foreign rather than domestic suppliers decreases in a foreign country’s labor market rigidity, and this effect is particularly pronounced in industries with higher volatility. Combining industry-level data on the U.S. offshoring intensity with measures of labor market rigidity and industry volatility, we find empirical evidence strongly supportive of the model’s predictions.
Keywords: offshoring, uncertainty, labor market rigidity, industry volatility
JEL Classification: F140, F160, F230
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