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Equilibrium Unemployment with Outsourcing under Labour Market Imperfections

Author

Listed:
  • Koskela, Erkki

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Stenbacka, Rune

    (Swedish School of Economics)

Abstract

We study both the various consequences and the incentives of outsourcing. We argue that the wage elasticity of labour demand is increasing as a function of the share of outsourcing, which is importantly a result consistent with existing empirical research. Furthermore, we show that a production mode with a higher proportion of outsourcing activity reduces the negotiated wage in the high-wage country with an imperfectly competitive labour market so that outsourcing reduces equilibrium unemployment. Finally, we characterize the optimal production mode and show that stronger labour market imperfections lead to a production mode with a higher share of outsourcing.

Suggested Citation

  • Koskela, Erkki & Stenbacka, Rune, 2007. "Equilibrium Unemployment with Outsourcing under Labour Market Imperfections," IZA Discussion Papers 2628, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2628
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    Cited by:

    1. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Meland, Frode & Straume, Odd Rune, 2012. "North–South technology transfer in unionised multinationals," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 385-395.
    2. Daniel Horgos, 2012. "International Outsourcing and Wage Rigidity," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 1-28, April.
    3. Jan König & Erkki Koskela, 2013. "The Role of Profit Sharing in Dual Labour Markets with Flexible Outsourcing," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 27(4), pages 351-370, December.
    4. Koskela, Erkki, 2009. "Impacts of Labor Taxation with Perfectly and Imperfectly Competitive Domestic Labor Markets under Flexible Outsourcing," IZA Discussion Papers 4544, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Amegashie, J. Atsu & Ouattara, Bazoumanna & Strobl, Eric, 2007. "Moral Hazard and the Composition of Transfers: Theory with an Application to Foreign Aid," MPRA Paper 3158, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 06 May 2007.
    6. Erkki Koskela & Panu Poutvaara, 2008. "Outsourcing and Labor Taxation in Dual Labor Markets," CESifo Working Paper Series 2333, CESifo.
    7. Koskela, Erkki & König, Jan, 2009. "Can Profit Sharing Lower Flexible Outsourcing? A Note," IZA Discussion Papers 4063, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Pi, Jiancai & Fan, Yanwei, 2021. "The impact of robots on equilibrium unemployment of unionized workers," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 663-675.
    9. Koskela, Erkki & Stenbacka, Rune, 2010. "Equilibrium unemployment with outsourcing and wage solidarity under labour market imperfections," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 376-392, April.
    10. Joan Muysken & Ehsan Vallizadeh & Thomas Ziesemer, 2015. "Migration, Unemployment, and Skill Downgrading," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 403-451, April.
    11. José Ramón García & Valeri Sorolla, 2014. "Monopolistic Competition and Different Wage Setting Systems," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 61(1), pages 48-77, February.
    12. Giuseppe Bognetti & Michele Santoni, 2010. "Can domestic unions gain from offshoring?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 51-67, May.
    13. Jan König & Erkki Koskela, 2011. "Does International Outsourcing Really Lower Workers’ Income?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 21-38, March.
    14. Petri Böckerman & Elisa Riihimäki, 2009. "International outsourcing and labour demand: Evidence from Finnish firm-level data," Working Papers 252, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    15. Marco de Pinto & Jörg Lingens, 2014. "Unionization, Information Asymmetry and the De-location of Firms," IAAEU Discussion Papers 201412, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    16. Erkki Koskela & Jan König, 2008. "Flexible Outsourcing, Profit Sharing and Equilibrium Unemployment," CESifo Working Paper Series 2382, CESifo.
    17. Koskela, Erkki, 2010. "Outsourcing Cost and Tax Progression under Nash Wage Bargaining with Flexible Outsourcing," IZA Discussion Papers 5097, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Marco de Pinto & Jörg Lingens, 2019. "Unionization, information asymmetry and the de‐location of firms," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(4), pages 1782-1823, November.
    19. Koskela, Erkki & Poutvaara, Panu, 2008. "Flexible Outsourcing and the Impacts of Labour Taxation in European Welfare States," IZA Discussion Papers 3699, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Riedl, Maximilian, 2013. "Wage bargaining, job loss fears and offshoring," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 174, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    21. Lutz Arnold & Stefanie Trepl, 2015. "A North-South Trade Model of Offshoring and Unemployment," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 999-1039, November.
    22. Matsuoka, Yuji & Fukushima, Marcelo, 2010. "Time zones, shift working and international outsourcing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 769-778, October.
    23. Ho, Wai-Ming, 2021. "International outsourcing, exchange rates, and monetary policy☆," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    24. Simontini Das & Ajitava Raychaudhuri & Saikat Sinha Roy, 2012. "Immigration Versus Outsourcing: A Developing Country¡¯S View," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 109-138, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labour market imperfections; equilibrium unemployment; outsourcing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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