pricing & Product Sourcing in an offshoring market: Evidence from semiconductor production services

The recent growth in offshore outsourcing of intermediate input production makes it especially critical that statistical agencies are able to accurately measure quality-adjusted trade flows. This paper focuses in particular on the implications of global production sharing for measuring the price of semiconductors, a critical input to high-end domestic manufacturing and U.S. productivity growth. Transaction-level data on semiconductor wafer fabrication around the world, including prices and detailed information on key physical attributes of semiconductor wafers, is analyzed. GSA's Wafer Fabrication & Back-End Pricing data was used in the analysis.

The earlier version of this paper was prepared for the conference “Measurement Issues Arising from the Growth of Globalization,” sponsored by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and the National Academy of Public Administration. New York Times Article on Conference

Additonal updates have been made to the paper, which was presented in July 2011 at The Conference on Research in Income and Wealth directed by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Please click the link below to download the latest version of the paper.

Pricing & Product Sourcing in an Offshoring Market: Evidence from Semiconductor Production Services (PDF) (Note: Additonal updates will be made to this paper in 2011. Please refer back to this link for the most up-to-date version.)