Pitt Faculty to Participate in Oct. 21 Symposium on Outsourcing U.S. Jobs

PITTSBURGH—Along the presidential campaign trail, Senator John Kerry has spoken out against what he has called the "tax loop hole" endorsed by the Bush Administration that Kerry claims rewards corporations for sending American jobs overseas. During an Oct. 21 symposium, titled "Good, Bad, or Somewhere in Between? Outsourcing to India and China," Pitt faculty members will join Acusis chief executive officer David Iwinski and Ronil Hira, assistant professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing jobs to India and China and its implications for the U.S. economy. The free public symposium will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. in room 1150 of Two Mellon Center, 501 Grant St., Pittsburgh.

Pitt participants include:

Steven Husted, professor and chair of the Department of Economics and associate dean for graduate studies and research. Husted's primary teaching assignments have been in the area of international economics. His current research interests focus on empirical modeling of exchange-rate behavior.

Thomas G. Rawski, professor of economics and history. Rawski researches the nature and implications of recent developments and long-term shifts in the Chinese economy.

Sweta Saxena, assistant professor of public and international affairs. She teaches and researches in the areas of international economics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. Currently, Saxena is studying issues of capital flight, outsourcing, and the impact of China's entry into the World Trade Organization on Indian trade.

William Brustein, director of the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) and professor of history, political science, and sociology. Brustein researches and teaches in the areas of comparative historical sociology, political sociology, and social movements.

Prior to joining Acusis, Iwinski served as general manager for Respironics in Hong Kong and later became the organization's managing director for China and South East Asia, a role that required him to oversee Respironics' Asian manufacturing as well as its sales and marketing operations in China. Acusis is the leading provider of quality medical transcription services to a nationwide client base. Iwinski's company outsources transcription work to India and also has operations in India.

At RIT, Hira works primarily on technology and industrial policy issues. His recent work has been on the development of the Indian software industry, the policy implications of offshore outsourcing, and new methods for measuring the linkages between research priority setting and social outcomes.

The symposium is sponsored by Pitt's Asian Studies Center within UCIS. For more information, call 412-648-7371.

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10/14/04/tmw