Community Development Graduate Group

In 2003, Business Week posed the alarming question of whether the jobs of white-collar workers in developed countries were on the verge of being offshored to developing countries. In this article Mexico was not even mentioned, but by 2006 the assessment had changed, as Business Week published an article on the offshoring of engineering jobs that focused entirely upon Mexico. What a difference three years makes. My thesis explores the offshoring to Mexico of knowledge-process based work, or what is currently described as “administrative and technical services.” Mexico is an interesting case study because it has a unique location, as it is the closest low labor cost neighbor to the U.S. Further, it has a history as a destination for offshored activities from the U.S., predominantly in manufacturing.