The Outsourcing Threat Is: a) Big b) Small c) Both

N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers and an economics professor at Harvard, proved his political tone-deafness in February when he observed that outsourcing by U.S. companies is "probably a plus for the economy in the long run." Mankiw hasn't said much on the subject since then, but a lively debate is raging in academic circles about the extent and importance of the trend.

The discussion excerpted here took place via teleconference on May 18 at the New York-based Academy of Management, a 68-year-old professional association of more than 14,000 members worldwide who study management and organizations.

The Participants

Moderator:

Sara L. Rynes, chair, Department of Management & Organizations, Henry B. Tippie College

of Business, University of Iowa

Panelists:

Rosemary Batt, Alice H. Cook

Professor of Women and Work at the Industrial and Labor Relations School, Cornell University

Peter Cappelli, George W.

Taylor Professor of Management, Wharton School, the University

of Pennsylvania

Richard A. D'Aveni, Professor

of Strategic Management, Amos Tuck Business School, Dartmouth College