Sidebar #77 - Zona Francas and Outsourcing

There are many ways in which the US iand other countries nfluence daily life in Costa Rica. One of these influences is through the labor market. Many US-based companies have their regional headquarters or operations based in Costa Rica due to the country's strong economy and stability. Others simply hire Ticos for tasks related to work in the US. This is a practice commonly referred to as outsourcing. Transnational companies turn to outsourcing in order to reduce labor costs. Despite a relatively similar cost of living to the US, (maybe slightly less) Costa Ricans perform the same jobs as US Americans (think accounting, customer service, etc.) for a fraction of the salary. Outsourcing becomes an increasingly big political issue stateside when unemployment is low.

These Ticos who are employed transnational companies work in areas known as “Zona Francas”. Zona Francas are usually buildings, compounds, or designated areas in which transnational companies receive special tax, customs, and/or economic regulations from the government. Call centers are examples of this. If you are based in the US and call a service provider and subsequently hear a voice with an accent, it’s possible that the customer service rep you're talking to is actually calling from another country. Likely, they are working at a call center in that country’s equivalent of a Zona Franca. For that reason, “Executive Customer Service” is one of the most popular specialties for students at my technical high school, so that they can obtain these types of positions.

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