The contribution of this thesis is the ability to measure and analyze the activities performed within GVCs using a multitude of data and quantitative approaches. This is done at the macro level (a country's industry), at the regional level and at the micro level (company).

Chapter 2 examines the macroeconomic relationship between offshoring and the functional structure of labor demand in advanced economies. We conclude that the effect of offshoring on onshore functional labor demand depends significantly on the production stage being offshored and the destination of offhoring.

Chapter 3 contains a regional-level analysis, in which we study functional specialization in Dutch regions and examine the role of offshoring in them. Our descriptive analysis suggests the following. First, the functional composition of the Dutch labor force is slowly changing, clearly moving from production and administrative activities toward knowledge-intensive activities such as R&D and technology development, sales, and marketing and management. Second, compared to other activities, knowledge-intensive activities are more regionally concentrated. This concentration of knowledge-intensive activities in certain Dutch regions has a stable trend. Third, in terms of specialization in business functions, there are large differences between regions.

Chapter 4 is based on firm-level data; we study functional specialization and its relationship with the productivity performance of firms in the Netherlands. We find that firms specializing in R&D and marketing are signicantly more productive than firms specializing in manufacturing. This result suggests that R&D and brand name building lead to higher returns than manufacturing. We do not observe a signicant relationship between functional specialization and price premiums.

Jiang, A. (2020). Offshoring, functional specialization and economic performance. Dissertation, University of Grongingen, doi:10.33612/diss.126349119.