It is difficult to determine whether offshore outsourcing has a positive or negative effect on the US economy. It may actually depend on the perspective you take. As noted by Hira and Hira (2005), outsourcing in the service sector constitutes a major change in the functioning of the economy and will have serious consequences, both positive and negative, on the trajectory of economic growth , income distribution and labor. However, there are many factors to consider when considering globalization. Businesses must familiarize themselves with the different rules and regulations of global trade, tariffs, trade agreements and barriers, and decide how to go global; global coherence or local adaptation. All of these issues affect a company's plan to move forward with offshore outsourcing. For proponents of global trade, the hope is that outsourcing will help spur U.S. economic growth and development by reducing the cost of services (i.e., labor and materials) and opening new markets abroad. Mainstream economists believe that outsourcing will ...