http://www.physorg.com/news94979949.html

I would be interested in knowing the source of this Duke study. While as I might believe this article, it is sloppy reporting to cite a study without giving its name and title. In this day and age, a URL would be good.
Here is another author whose talks I have listened to over the years.
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/LATimesNoDelve.txt

Their conclusion certainly matches with my informal data gathering among collegues, that the sole purpose in offshoring IT work is (hoped-for) cost saving, not skill shortages at home.

Hi Guys,
I come from a country ( Ireland) that has benefitted from this practice - and the primary reason for off-shoring of jobs is very simple - low corporation tax. A good IT skill base is of course essential and having english as a first language is also an advantage - but once these are in place it´s tax dodging all the way!! Oh, and do you realise that once a piece of software has been defined as having been developed in a particular country, then all the downstream activities can be taxed at the advantageous tax rates of that country? Your multinationals are screwin ya America - and you deserve it for the way you fall for their BS.
edward
p.s Do you not realise why they keep on about skill shortages? So as to push more young people toward IT and engineering studies - then guess what happens - oversupply of skilled workers, and payroll costs ( i.e. wages ) at home fall.