Title: IT Outlook 2004 Chapter 2: Globalisation of the ICT sector
1IT Outlook 2004Chapter 2 Globalisation of the
ICT sector
- Section on International Sourcing
- OECD-Eurostat Expert Meeting on Trade-in-Services
Statistics - OECD April 28 2004
- Graham Vickery and Desirée van Welsum
2International Sourcing Terminology
- The international sourcing of IT and ICT-enabled
services (often referred to as offshoring) is
part of the globalisation of the ICT sector, and
also of other services sectors - Offshoring includes
- Insourcing to foreign affiliates
- Outsourcing activities are contracted out to
independent parties abroad - But (in- and) outsourcing can also take place
domestically
3Illustration
Onshoring, Offshoring, insourcing and outsourcing
IT and business process services Approximate
value of worldwide activity in 2001, USD
4But no official statistics on international
services sourcing ? Look at
- Exports of services
- if service activities are sourced
internationally, the country receiving the
international in- and/or outsourcing must export
services back to the country of origin - Employment data
- Input-output tables
- Trade in intermediates
5Growth of exports of other business services and
computer and information services
6This shows
- Some of the countries often mentioned in the
outsourcing debate have experienced strong export
growth (e.g. India) - But, the exports of some of these countries are
growing from a low base
7Share of reported total exports of other business
services and computer and information services,
1995, 2002 (IMF BoP data)
8However
- There are discrepancies in the reported data
- A challenge for statisticians
9Discrepancies total services
10Discrepancies commercial services (excl. travel
and transport)
11Discrepancies computer and information services
12Possible explanations
- Reporting difficulties (definition of services
and modes of delivery) - Lags in implementation of BPM5 methodology
- Different data collection methods (difference
between imports and exports surveys) and possibly
recording criteria - Differences in treatment of certain categories
(e.g. movement of temporary workers) - Operations of global firms
13Questions
- How can the discrepancies be explained?
- Is the list of possible explanations exhaustive
or are there other plausible explanations? - What can be done to improve the situation
- In the short term?
- In the long term?