ABSTRACT
Concerns about recent outsourcing have received enormous attention in themedia and in political circles in developed countries such as the UnitedStates and the United Kingdom. Outsourcing in general, and the outsourcing of services in particular, has provoked a vocal reaction on the part of some politicians, unions, workers and others. While the earlier trend associated with deindustrialization and the outsourcing of traditional manufacturing activities from the developed countries was treated initially with the same negative response, the first reports of service outsourcing were greeted not only with similar concern but also with profound shock. Unfounded as it was, the conventional wisdom had been that the developed countries would exploit their competitive advantage in service activities – impervious as they were to outsourcing – to more than fill any employment void left by outsourced industrial activity.
