Working Paper: NBER ID: w25193
Authors: Fariha Kamal
Abstract: This paper evaluates the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data collection efforts to classify business entities that engage in an extreme form of production fragmentation called “factoryless” goods production. “Factoryless” goods-producing entities outsource physical transformation activities while retaining ownership of the intellectual property and control of sales to customers. Responses to a special inquiry on the incidence of purchases of contract manufacturing services in combination with data on production inputs and outputs, intellectual property, and international trade is used to identify and document characteristics of “factoryless” firms in the U.S. economy.
Keywords: factoryless goods producers; contract manufacturing services; economic statistics; outsourcing
JEL Codes: F2; F23; L23; L6; M11; O32; O51
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| business model of outsourcing (L24) | organizational structure of FGPs (L10) |
| business model of outsourcing (L24) | innovative capacity of FGPs (O36) |
| outsourcing of production (L23) | propensity to engage in international trade (F10) |
| hybrid manufacturers (L62) | higher shares of non-production workers (J29) |
| hybrid manufacturers (L62) | greater ownership of intellectual property (O34) |
| business model (M21) | firm age (L10) |
| business model (M21) | firm size (L25) |