The Spirit of Outsourcing: Corporate and State Regulation of Labor under H-1B Visa and TANF Policies in the U.S.

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Indian immigrant information technology (IT) workers on the H-1B visa to analyze how public–private collaborations in the spirit and practice of outsourcing, i.e. systematic fragmentation and decentralization of both corporate and state activities, function as mechanisms for disciplining labor. Through an analysis of these groups’ parallel experiences with exploitative work and employers in the U.S., this paper identifies how outsourcing is not merely a business model for cross-border trade, but also a key principle, component, and outcome of policy-based neo-liberal economic restructuring.

Citation

Ridzi, F. and Banerjee, P. (2005), "The Spirit of Outsourcing: Corporate and State Regulation of Labor under H-1B Visa and TANF Policies in the U.S.", Smith, V. (Ed.) Worker Participation: Current Research and Future Trends (Research in the Sociology of Work, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 345-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-2833(06)16013-6