Evidence on Outsourcing
22 March 2006
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Global investment patterns belie Harold Meyerson's allegation that too many jobs in America are at risk of being outsourced ("Will Your Job Survive?" March 22).
If employers truly were fleeing the U.S. for low-wage countries, these countries would enjoy higher per-capita foreign direct investment (FDI) than we receive in America. But between 2000 and 2003 (the last year for which reliable data are available), the two countries now most feared by the likes of Mr. Meyerson - India and China - had per-capita FDI, respectively, of $13 and $142. During this same time, U.S. per-capita FDI was $2,031.*
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
* Calculated from data at http://devdata.worldbank.org/, World Development Indicators database.
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Global investment patterns belie Harold Meyerson's allegation that too many jobs in America are at risk of being outsourced ("Will Your Job Survive?" March 22).
If employers truly were fleeing the U.S. for low-wage countries, these countries would enjoy higher per-capita foreign direct investment (FDI) than we receive in America. But between 2000 and 2003 (the last year for which reliable data are available), the two countries now most feared by the likes of Mr. Meyerson - India and China - had per-capita FDI, respectively, of $13 and $142. During this same time, U.S. per-capita FDI was $2,031.*
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
* Calculated from data at http://devdata.worldbank.org/, World Development Indicators database.
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Tuesday December 5, 2006 at 6:30pm