Services Offshoring: Background and Implications for California

This paper provides background information for policy consideration of the offshoring of services. The authors describe the concept of offshoring, explain its appeal, and put the phenomenon in both its historical and current context. The paper explains how technology and business services offshoring fits into the growing globalization of the U.S. and world economies. It concludes by discussing some policy implications and describing how much more data and analysis are required for the development of effective policy.