服务外包如何推动制造业价值链位置提升——基于跨国和中国样本的系统性检验

How Can Service Outsourcing Drive the Upgrading of Manufacturing Value Chain Status——A Systematic Examination Based on Cross-country and Chinese Samples

在实现产业价值链升级的政策目标及服务外包已成为全球制造业发展重要趋势的现实背景下,探讨服务外包如何促进我国制造业实现价值链位置攀升具有重要意义。本文基于1995—2018年最新的区域间投入产出表(OECD-ICIO),系统考察离岸和在岸服务外包对一国制造业价值链位置提升的影响效应及机制,并进一步选取中国样本进行比较分析。研究发现:(1)服务外包有利于一国制造业在产业链上所处相对环节向下游移动,且离岸服务外包在推动全球价值链嵌入位置提升中发挥更重要的作用。(2)机制分析来看,服务外包通过替代货物中间品进口、减少中间品跨境购买数量以及提高生产率尤其是劳动生产率三类渠道,推动一国价值链环节向下游移动,还通过总部经济和吸收能力大大加强了在岸服务外包对价值链嵌入位置的影响程度。(3)异质性分析表明,服务外包对制造业嵌入位置变动的影响随时间推移和收入水平降低而逐渐弱化,且对于不同技术行业和服务类型具有差异影响。(4)进一步采用中国样本拓展分析发现,结果与跨国数据总体一致,中国制造业发展离岸外包与在岸外包同样会降低制造业行业上游度,进而推动全球价值链嵌入位置提升,并且离岸外包相对在岸外包效应更大。本研究在发展贸易新业态新模式下能够为我国借助大力发展服务外包产业促进制造业价值链升级等方面提供理论和经验借鉴。

In the context of the policy objective of achieving industrial value chain upgrading and the reality that service outsourcing has become an important trend in global manufacturing development,it is important to explore how service outsourcing contributes to achieving value chain status upgrading in China’s manufacturing industry.Based on the latest edition of OECD Inter-Country Input-Output tables(ICIO)from 1995 to 2018,this paper systematically examines the impact effects and mechanisms of offshore and onshore service outsourcing on the upgrading of a country’s manufacturing value chain status.Further,we select a Chinese sample for comparative analysis.We find that:(1)Service outsourcing facilitates a country’s manufacturing industry to move downstream in the relative links in the industrial chain.Offshore service outsourcing plays a more important role in promoting the upgrading of the embedded position in the global value chain.(2)Mechanistic analysis reveals that outsourcing of services drives the downstream movement of a country’s value chain links through three channels:replacing imports of intermediate goods,reducing the number of cross-border purchases of intermediate goods,and increasing productivity,especially labor productivity.Also,service outsourcing significantly enhances the extent to which onshore outsourcing of services influences the embeddedness of value chains through headquarters economies and absorptive capacity.(3)Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of services outsourcing on changes in manufacturing embeddedness weakens over time and at lower income levels.Besides,the impact has differential effects across technology sectors and service types.(4)Further analysis using the Chinese sample shows that the results are generally consistent with the cross-country sample.The development of offshoring and onshoring in China’s manufacturing industry also reduced the upstream degree of the manufacturing industry and thus promoting the upgrading of the embedded position in the global value chain.Moreover,the upgrading effect of offshoring is greater than that of onshoring.This study provides theoretical and empirical references for China to promote the upgrading of manufacturing value chains through the vigorous development of the service outsourcing industry under the development of new trade patterns and new models.