“That the United States maintains a trade surplus in IT services is probably a surprise to many Americans bombarded by news that offshore outsourcing is sending jobs overseas. Despite the export of many computer-programming and call-center jobs, U.S. companies bring in far more revenue from business-technology services than they pay to foreign providers. The reason some economists think we’ll keep a favorable trade balance: The IT services that U.S. firms offer are more sophisticated than the commodity-type jobs sent offshore. “We have an abundance of skilled software IT labor, giving us a comparative advantage,” says Jeffrey Bergstrand, associate professor of finance and business economics at the University of Notre Dame.” [article]