FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WHAT IS THE MARKET VALUE OF AN EDUCATION?

Shehzad Nadeem, Dead Ringers: How Outsourcing Is Changing the Way Indians Understand Themselves (Princeton & Oxford: Princeton U. Press, 2011) (This is an interesting read not only for the insights on the effects of outsourcing on Indians, but also on outsourcing impact on the American workforce. American workers, including professionals, should begin to see their own future in the situation of Indian workers: optimism with a bigger dose of boredom and cynicism. "An executive at a BPO specializing in legal services says that the quality of work 'is often better in India because Indian employees are more qualified than their U.S. counterparts.' Ph.D.s, for example, perform the work of American paralegals. (While salaries are comparable to a midsize law firm in India, the pay rate is 10-15 percent that of U.S. lawyers.) 'You are putting a higher skill level to the task,' he explains. While the life of a junior Indian law clerk is hardly to be envied, an M.B.A., at a legal outsourcing firm in India performs work that a similarly credentialed person in the developed world 'would never do.' . . ." Id. at 108.).