Economist Alan S Blinder noted that 30-40 mn US jobs are being offshored -- figures that are being considered by many, especially those in politics.
WASHINGTON, DC: When Princeton University economist Alan S Blinder told the Wall Street Journal this week about 30-40 million US jobs being offshored, he was actually emphasising what he has been saying for a few years now — that millions of American jobs will be outsourced to countries like India and China not just because of low wages or skill levels, but because it is easier to get work “delivered electronically with very little diminution of quality.”
Blinder’s reputation and his rigour at research have ensured that his figures are accepted by many, especially those in politics. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, for instance, speaks with Blinder to get his views on economic policy. Hillary Clinton is also a regular.
Unlike most of America which feels that outsourcing to India and China is bad for the US economy, Blinder feels that eventually, all three countries would benefit. So, has the once-free-trade advocate turned into a protectionist? “My view is that, in the economic realm, this (free trade) is going to be the biggest policy issue of the next generation,”
But the Wall Street Journal says: “Blinder says there’s an urgent need to retool America’s education system so it trains young people for jobs likely to remain in the US. A college diploma, he warns, may lose its exalted ‘silver bullet’ status.”
It isn’t how many years one spends in school that will matter, he says, it’s choosing to learn the skills for jobs that cannot easily be delivered electronically from afar.... Mostly he wants to shock politicians, policy makers and other economists into realising how big a change is coming and what new sectors it will reach, the WSJ says. “This is something factory workers have understood for a generation. It’s now coming down on the heads of highly educated, politically vocal people, and they’re not going to take it,” Blinder added.
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