International Outsourcing and Incomplete Contracts

Barbara Spencer

No 11418, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: International outsourcing to lower cost countries such as China and India can best be understood through the enrichment of trade models to include concepts from industrial organization and contract theory that explain the vertical organization of production. The combination of trade with the choice of organizational form represents an important new area for both theoretical and empirical research. This survey paper provides a perspective on this new literature so as to gain insights into the forces driving international outsourcing. The paper focuses on relationship-specific investment, incomplete contracts, and also search and matching, as fundamental concepts that explain outsourcing decisions.

JEL-codes: F1 L14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec and nep-int
Note: ITI
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (156)

Published as Spencer, Barbara J. "International Outsourcing And Incomplete Contracts," Canadian Journal of Economics, 2005, v38(4,Nov), 1107-1135.

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Journal Article: International outsourcing and incomplete contracts (2005)
Journal Article: International outsourcing and incomplete contracts (2005)
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