The benefits of outsourcing

This report from the Mackinack Center for Public Policy helps put outsourcing job losses in perspective.

"According to a 2003 study by the McKinsey Global Institute, outsourcing delivers large and measurable benefits to the U.S. economy. It reduces costs for IT and other services by as much as 60 percent, keeping U.S. companies competitive in global markets, benefiting workers and shareholders alike. It stokes demand abroad for the export of U.S.-supplied computers, telecommunications hardware, software, and legal, financial, and marketing services. It returns profits to the United States from U.S.-owned affiliates abroad, and it allows U.S. companies to re-deploy workers in more productive jobs here at home. In fact, McKinsey calculates that every $1.00 spent on foreign outsourcing creates $1.12 to $1.14 of additional economic activity in the U.S. economy. Another study by Global Insights estimated the U.S. economy will be $124 billion larger in 2008 if outsourcing continues compared to no outsourcing."