Offshoring and Firm Performance: Evidence from French Manufacturing Industry

This paper examines the implications of offshoring by French manufacturing firms on their productivity and profitability. Offshoring is considered as endogenous and its impact is estimated on ex post measures of firm performance. The dataset used allows the distinction between two forms of offshoring: vertical foreign direct investment (FDI) and international outsourcing. It also gives us the possibility of distinguishing between offshoring to developed and developing countries. The results show, first, that offshoring has a stronger effect on profitability and, second, that the implications on performance are significant only in the case of international outsourcing to developing countries.