Outsourcing, unemployment and welfare policy

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Keuschnigg, Christian; Ribi, Evelyn
• 署名单位: University of St Gallen; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2009.02.001
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 168-176
• 关键词: Outsourcing; unemployment; social insurance; redistribution

摘要

The paper investigates the consequences of outsourcing of labor intensive activities to low-wage economies. This trend challenges the two basic functions of the welfare state, redistribution and social insurance when private unemployment insurance markets are missing. The main results are: (i) outsourcing raises unemployment and labor income risk of unskilled workers; (ii) it increases inequality between high- and low-income groups; and (iii) the gains from outsourcing can be made Pareto improving by using a redistributive linear income tax if redistribution is initially not too large. We finally derive the welfare optimal redistribution and unemployment insurance policies. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.