IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/lmu/muenec/21021.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Multi-Product Offshoring

Author

Listed:
  • Eckel, Carsten
  • Irlacher, Michael

Abstract

In this paper, we incorporate offshoring of labor-intensive goods in a model with multi-product firms, and explore its implications in partial and general oligopolistic equilibrium. We identify important aspects of this phenomenon and argue that improvements in offshoring opportunities can affect the geographic organization of a firm and its product range. Multi-product firms internalize supply linkages (flexible manufacturing) and demand linkages (cannibalization effect). In partial equilibrium, we find that more products are produced offshore on a larger scale and firms expand their product range with better prospects for offshoring. We identify the cannibalization effect as an important transmission mechanism within multi-product firms and show that the latter effect hits domestic labor demand in addition to the well-known relocation effect. Interestingly in general equilibrium these effects lead to adjustments in domestic factor prices and may cause a partial re-relocation of product lines.

Suggested Citation

  • Eckel, Carsten & Irlacher, Michael, 2014. "Multi-Product Offshoring," Discussion Papers in Economics 21021, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenec:21021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/21021/1/EckelIrlacher_2014.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brander, James & Krugman, Paul, 1983. "A 'reciprocal dumping' model of international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3-4), pages 313-321, November.
    2. J. Peter Neary, 2016. "International Trade in General Oligopolistic Equilibrium," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 669-698, September.
    3. Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri & Greg C. Wright, 2021. "Immigration, Offshoring, and American Jobs," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 10, pages 291-326, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Hartmut Egger & Udo Kreickemeier & Jens Wrona, 2017. "Offshoring Domestic Jobs," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: International Trade and Labor Markets Welfare, Inequality and Unemployment, chapter 2, pages 27-70, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Qiu, Larry D. & Zhou, Wen, 2013. "Multiproduct firms and scope adjustment in globalization," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 142-153.
    6. Robert C. Feenstra & Gene M. Grossman & Douglas A. Irwin (ed.), 1996. "The Political Economy of Trade Policy: Papers in Honor of Jagdish Bhagwati," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262061864, April.
    7. Thierry Mayer & Marc J. Melitz & Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, 2021. "Market Size, Competition, and the Product Mix of Exporters," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 5, pages 109-150, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Lisandra Flach & Michael Irlacher, 2018. "Product versus Process: Innovation Strategies of Multiproduct Firms," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 236-277, February.
    9. Swati Dhingra, 2013. "Trading Away Wide Brands for Cheap Brands," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2554-2584, October.
    10. Grossman, Gene M. & Helpman, Elhanan, 2004. "Managerial incentives and the international organization of production," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 237-262, July.
    11. Costas Arkolakis & Sharat Ganapati & Marc-Andreas Muendler, 2021. "The Extensive Margin of Exporting Products: A Firm-Level Analysis," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 182-245, October.
    12. Becker, Sascha O. & Ekholm, Karolina & Muendler, Marc-Andreas, 2013. "Offshoring and the onshore composition of tasks and skills," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 91-106.
    13. Gianmarco Ottaviano & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2021. "Agglomeration And Trade Revisited," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 3, pages 59-85, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Eckel, Carsten & Iacovone, Leonardo & Javorcik, Beata & Neary, J. Peter, 2015. "Multi-product firms at home and away: Cost- versus quality-based competence," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 216-232.
    15. Avraham Ebenstein & Ann Harrison & Margaret McMillan & Shannon Phillips, 2022. "Estimating The Impact Of Trade And Offshoring On American Workers Using The Current Population Surveys," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 12, pages 275-289, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    16. McCalman, Phillip & Spearot, Alan, 2013. "Why trucks jump: Offshoring and product characteristics," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 82-95.
    17. Feenstra, Robert C. & Hanson, Gordon H., 1997. "Foreign direct investment and relative wages: Evidence from Mexico's maquiladoras," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3-4), pages 371-393, May.
    18. Carsten Eckel & J. Peter Neary, 2010. "Multi-Product Firms and Flexible Manufacturing in the Global Economy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 77(1), pages 188-217.
    19. Eaton, B Curtis & Schmitt, Nicolas, 1994. "Flexible Manufacturing and Market Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 875-888, September.
    20. Gene M. Grossman & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2008. "Trading Tasks: A Simple Theory of Offshoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1978-1997, December.
    21. Baldwin, Richard E. & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I. P., 2001. "Multiproduct multinationals and reciprocal FDI dumping," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 429-448, August.
    22. Eli Berman & John Bound & Zvi Griliches, 1994. "Changes in the Demand for Skilled Labor within U. S. Manufacturing: Evidence from the Annual Survey of Manufactures," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 367-397.
    23. Robert Z. Lawrence, 1994. "Trade, Multinationals, & Labor," NBER Working Papers 4836, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Biscourp, Pierre & Kramarz, Francis, 2007. "Employment, skill structure and international trade: Firm-level evidence for France," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 22-51, May.
    25. George Norman & Jacques‐François Thisse, 1999. "Technology Choice and Market Structure: strategic aspects of flexible manufacturing," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 345-372, September.
    26. Andrew B. Bernard & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2010. "Multiple-Product Firms and Product Switching," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 70-97, March.
    27. Carsten Eckel, 2009. "Endogenous Sunk Costs, Flexible Manufacturing and the Productivity Effects of International Trade," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(2), pages 369-386, June.
    28. Alireza Naghavi & Gianmarco Ottaviano, 2009. "Offshoring and product innovation," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 38(3), pages 517-532, March.
    29. Volker Nocke & Stephen Yeaple, 2014. "Globalization And Multiproduct Firms," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 55, pages 993-1018, November.
    30. Stephen Ross Yeaple, 2023. "Scale, scope, and the international expansion strategies of multiproduct firms," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1385-1413, September.
    31. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6g0gsihsjmn5snc9pb0jo6hhp is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Head, Keith & Ries, John, 2002. "Offshore production and skill upgrading by Japanese manufacturing firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 81-105, October.
    33. repec:bla:jindec:v:47:y:1999:i:3:p:345-72 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maxim Goryunov & Sergey Kokovin & Takatoshi Tabuchi, 2022. "Continuous spatial monopolistic competition: matching goods with consumers," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 74(3), pages 793-832, October.
    2. Baumgarten, Daniel & Irlacher, Michael & Koch, Michael, 2020. "Offshoring and non-monotonic employment effects across industries in general equilibrium," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    3. Chen, Qifei & Shen, Yanzhi, 2021. "The impacts of offshore and onshore outsourcing on China's upgrading in global value chains: Evidence from its manufacturing and service sectors," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 263-280.
    4. Irlacher, Michael & Baumgarten, Daniel & Koch, Michael, 2017. "Short- versus long-run effects of offshoring when sectors are heterogeneous," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168272, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniel Baumgarten & Michael Irlacher & Karin Mayr‐Dorn, 2022. "Internationalization strategies of multi‐product firms: The role of technology," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 1929-1965, November.
    2. Forslid, Rikard & Okubo, Toshihiro, 2023. "Trade, location, and multi-product firms," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    3. David Hummels & Jakob R. Munch & Chong Xiang, 2018. "Offshoring and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 981-1028, September.
    4. Lisandra Flach & Michael Irlacher, 2018. "Product versus Process: Innovation Strategies of Multiproduct Firms," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 236-277, February.
    5. Baumgarten, Daniel & Irlacher, Michael & Koch, Michael, 2020. "Offshoring and non-monotonic employment effects across industries in general equilibrium," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Carsten Eckel & Leonardo Iacovone & Beata Javorcik & J. Peter Neary, 2016. "Testing the Core-competency Model of Multi-product Exporters," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 699-716, September.
    7. Michael Irlacher, 2022. "Multi-product Firms in International Economics," Economics working papers 2022-01, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    8. Parenti, Mathieu, 2018. "Large and small firms in a global market: David vs. Goliath," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 103-118.
    9. Larry Qiu & Miaojie Yu, 2014. "Multiproduct Firms, Export Product Scope, and Trade Liberalization: The Role of Managerial Efficiency," Working Papers 022014, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.
    10. Macedoni, Luca, 2022. "Large multiproduct exporters across rich and poor countries: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    11. Fontagné, Lionel & Secchi, Angelo & Tomasi, Chiara, 2018. "Exporters’ product vectors across markets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 150-180.
    12. Chunming Zhao & Qun Zhang, 2016. "Input Trade Liberalization and Export Product Scope: Evidence from China," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 6(2), pages 118-132, December.
    13. Eckel, Carsten & Iacovone, Leonardo & Javorcik, Beata & Neary, J. Peter, 2015. "Multi-product firms at home and away: Cost- versus quality-based competence," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 216-232.
    14. Hartmut Egger & Michael Koch, 2011. "Labor Unions and the Scale and Scope of Multi-Product Firms," Working Papers 097, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    15. Flach, Lisandra & Irlacher, Michael, 2014. "Product versus Process," Discussion Papers in Economics 21022, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    16. Jackie M.L. Chan & Michael Irlacher & Michael Koch, 2022. "Multiproduct Mergers and the Product Mix in Domestic and Foreign Markets," Economics working papers 2022-03, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    17. Luca Macedoni & Rui Zhang & Frederic Warzynski, 2024. "Fight or Flight? How Do Firms Adapt Their Product Mix in Response to Demand and Competition," CESifo Working Paper Series 11144, CESifo.
    18. Arnarson, Björn Thor, 2020. "The superstar and the followers: Intra-firm product complementarity in international trade," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 277-304.
    19. Kim, Kyungmin, 2018. "Multiproduct competition in a North-South model with technological differences," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 262-273.
    20. Linda Andersson & Patrik Karpaty & Selen Savsin, 2017. "Labour Demand, Offshoring and Inshoring: Evidence from Swedish Firm-level Data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 240-274, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Multi-Product Firms; Cannibalization Effect; Product Range; Efficiency-seeking Offshoring; General Oligopolistic Equilibrium.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:lmu:muenec:21021. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tamilla Benkelberg (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.