The work organisation in companies is increasingly "fragmented" due to the growing use of outsourcing of activities that are not considered as "core business". Outsourcing is the process whereby a company separates itself from an activity that was previously carried out in-house and allocates it to a specialized external service company.
This article summarises a recent study (Bergeaud et al., 2021) conducted at the Banque de France on the role of technological change in the outsourcing process. The authors study the impact of broadband Internet access in France between 1999 and 2007 on the work organization in companies and on workers. They conclude that this technological shock triggered a reorganization of companies and contributed to the rise of outsourcing. For workers directly affected by this outsourcing process, the impact on wages depends on their level of technical qualification.
Antonin Bergeaud and Clement Mazet-Sonilhac
14 April 2022
Banque de France
https://publications.banque-france.fr/en/technological-change-and-outsourcing-illustration-through-broadband-internet-access-france
This work is published under POID and the CEP's Growth programme.