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The Dynamics of Offshoring and Institutions

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Previous research has recognized that weak institutions can hamper investments and alter patterns of trade. However, little is known about the impact of institutional quality on offshoring. This is surprising, given that offshoring has become an important part of many firms’ internationalization strategy. This study uses detailed Swedish firm-level data on production and trade in combination with a large set of institutional measures of the target economies to study the relationship between institutional quality and offshoring. The results suggest that weak institutions are negatively related to offshoring in general and to offshoring of R&D-intensive goods in particular. Furthermore, firms that are able to establish long-term contracts do so by starting small and successively deepening their engagements. These results are robust to a large number of conometric pecifications and various measures of institutional quality.

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  • Heyman, Fredrik & Gustavsson Tingvall, Patrik, 2012. "The Dynamics of Offshoring and Institutions," Ratio Working Papers 190, The Ratio Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0190
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    2. Sousa, Carlos M.P. & He, Xinming & Lengler, Jorge & Tang, Linhan, 2021. "Foreign market re-entry: A review and future research directions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    3. Tobias Brändle & Andreas Koch, 2017. "Offshoring and Outsourcing Potentials: Evidence from German Micro-Level Data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(9), pages 1775-1806, September.
    4. Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Peprah, Augustine Awuah & Amartey, Abednego Okoe & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2020. "Institutional voids and firms' resource commitment in emerging markets: A review and future research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Offshoring; Institutions; Firm-level data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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