Outsourcing, Occupational Restructuring, and Employee Well-Being: Is There a Silver Lining?

Petri Böckerman () and Mika Maliranta

No 7399, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between outsourcing and various aspects of employee well-being by devoting special attention to the role of occupational restructuring as a conveying mechanism. Using linked employer-employee data, we find that offshoring involves job destruction, especially when the destination is a low-wage country. In such circumstances, staying employees' job satisfaction is reduced. However, the relationship between outsourcing and employee well-being is not entirely negative. Our evidence also shows that offshoring to high-wage countries stimulates the vertical mobility of employees in affected firms in a manner that improves perceived well-being, particularly in terms of better prospects for promotion.

Keywords: subjective well-being; working conditions; downsizing; offshoring; outsourcing; globalization; job satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F23 J28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2013-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa, nep-hap, nep-hrm, nep-lab, nep-lma and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published - published in: Industrial Relations, 2013, 52 (4), 878-914

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Related works:
Journal Article: Outsourcing, Occupational Restructuring, and Employee Well-Being: Is There a Silver Lining? (2013)
Working Paper: Outsourcing, occupational restructuring, and employee well-being: Is there a silver lining? (2012)
Working Paper: Outsourcing, Occupational Restructuring, and Employee Well-being – Is There a Silver Lining? (2012)
Working Paper: Outsourcing, occupational restructuring, and employee well-being: Is there a silver lining? (2012)
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