You cannot believe everything you read in the newspapers - some of them, at least. Across the developed world, press reports warn of the inevitable loss of millions of jobs to low-cost countries such as India as services follow manufacturing offshore. Yet countries such as the US and the UK have been among the biggest beneficiaries of offshoring - and can continue to be if they recognise the policies needed to foster service industries.

The economic benefits of offshoring to developed countries have been explored again in several recent reports - including yesterday's analysis of the impact of offshoring on the UK by the Advanced Institute of Management Research. If offshoring cuts costs or improves quality, companies can improve their competitiveness. A country that outsources jobs abroad can shift towards more productive and higher value activities - with benefits for growth. The countries that take up the offshored jobs raise their growth rates and can buy more from those that have exported such work.