The backlash in the US against the loss of manufacturing and service sector jobs to lower cost competitors such as China and India has waxed and waned. But if - as a number of studies predict - the offshoring revolution is still in its early stages then it is a fair bet there is a lot more backlash to come. How to head it off?

Simply restating the laws of comparative advantage is not necessarily the most effective route for politicians facing often angry and insecure voters. It is true that the savings to corporations from offshoring accrue - with interest - to the US economy and will lead to the creation of new and different kinds of employment in their stead. But this is of academic comfort to people who have just been made redundant.