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Outsourcing of services, imported materials and the demand for heterogeneous labour : an application of a generalised box-cox function

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  • Falk, Martin
  • Koebel, Bertrand M.

Abstract

This paper examines the effects that purchased services and imported intermediate materials have on the labour demand for different skills in the manufacturing sector. We derive and estimate a factor demand system based on the generalised Box-Cox cost function nesting both the normalised quadratic and the translog functional form. We find that the impacts of output and capital growth are more important in explaining the demand for heterogeneous labour than substitution effects between labour and non-labour inputs. Similarly, the increasing use of both imported materials and purchased services is rather a consequence of output growth than input substitution.

Suggested Citation

  • Falk, Martin & Koebel, Bertrand M., 2000. "Outsourcing of services, imported materials and the demand for heterogeneous labour : an application of a generalised box-cox function," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-51, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:5335
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Flaig Gebhard & Rottmann Horst, 2001. "Input Demand and the Shortand Long-Run Employment Thresholds: An Empirical Analysis for the German Manufacturing Sector," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 2(4), pages 367-384, December.
    2. Christis Tombazos, 1999. "The role of imports in expanding the demand gap between skilled and unskilled labour in the US," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 509-516.
    3. Diewert, Walter E & Wales, Terence J, 1987. "Flexible Functional Forms and Global Curvature Conditions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(1), pages 43-68, January.
    4. Fixler, Dennis J. & Siegel, Donald, 1999. "Outsourcing and productivity growth in services," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 177-194, June.
    5. Koebel, Bertrand M. & Falk, Martin & Laisney, François, 2000. "Imposing and testing curvature conditions on a Box-Cox function," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-70, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Cecilia Garcia-Penalosa & Eve Caroli & Philippe Aghion, 1999. "Inequality and Economic Growth: The Perspective of the New Growth Theories," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1615-1660, December.
    7. Chambers,Robert G., 1988. "Applied Production Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521314275, January.
    8. Martin Falk & Bertrand Koebel, 2001. "A dynamic heterogeneous labour demand model for German manufacturing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 339-348.
    9. Aw, Bee Yan & Roberts, Mark J, 1985. "The Role of Imports from the Newly-industrializing Countries in U.S. Production," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(1), pages 108-117, February.
    10. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10091 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Koebel, Bertrand & Falk, Martin & Laisney, Francois, 2003. "Imposing and Testing Curvature Conditions on a Box-Cox Cost Function," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 21(2), pages 319-335, April.
    12. repec:bla:scandj:v:103:y:2001:i:2:p:241-64 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Berndt, Ernst R & Khaled, Mohammed S, 1979. "Parametric Productivity Measurement and Choice among Flexible Functional Forms," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1220-1245, December.
    14. Diehl, Markus, 1999. "The Impact of International Outsourcing on the Skill Structure of Employment: Empirical Evidence from German Manufacturing Industries," Kiel Working Papers 946, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    15. Steiner, Viktor & Mohr, Robert, 1998. "Industrial change, stability of relative earnings, and substitution of unskilled labor in West-Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 98-22, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Antonietti & Davide Antonioli, 2007. "Production Offshoring and the Skill Composition of Italian Manufacturing Firms: A Counterfactual Analysis," Working Papers 2007.97, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    2. Hans Lööf, 2005. "A comparative perspective on innovation and productivity in manufacturing and services," Springer Books, in: Uwe Cantner & Elias Dinopoulos & Robert F. Lanzillotti (ed.), Entrepreneurships, the New Economy and Public Policy, pages 181-202, Springer.
    3. R. Antonietti & D. Antonioli, 2007. "Conditional Leptokurtosis in Energy Prices: Multivariate Evidence from Futures Markets," Working Papers 594, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    4. Ingo Geishecker, 2002. "Outsourcing and the Demand for Low-skilled Labour in German Manufacturing: New Evidence," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 313, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Koebel, Bertrand M. & Falk, Martin & Laisney, François, 2000. "Imposing and testing curvature conditions on a Box-Cox function," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-70, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Alberto López, 2014. "Outsourcing and firm productivity: a production function approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 977-998, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Outsourcing of services; intermediate imports; heterogeneous labour; Box-Cox cost function;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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