The Labor Market Effects of Offshoring by U.S. Multinational Firms

A-Tier
Journal: Review of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2021
Volume: 103
Issue: 2
Pages: 381-396

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We use firm-level data on U.S. multinationals to show how offshoring affects domestic employment within and across firms. We introduce a new instrument for offshoring, bilateral tax treaties, which reduce the cost of offshore activities. We find substantial heterogeneity in effects. A 10% increase in affiliate employment drives a 1.3% increase in employment at the U.S. parent firm, with smaller effects at the industry and regional levels. In contrast, offshoring by vertical multinationals drives declining employment among nonmultinationals in the same industry, and firms opening new affiliates exhibit smaller domestic employment growth than those expanding existing affiliates.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:tpr:restat:v:103:y:2021:i:2:p:381-396
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25