In 2003, three economists presented a hypothesis that an informal Bretton Woods regime had been reactivated 8 . The original Bretton Woods system was created after WWII and consisted in a formal obligation of its participant countries to maintain foreign exchange rates, determined against a gold parity, on a specific level, with acceptable deviations not exceeding 1 percent. The system ceased to exist in 1971 after president Nixon had taken a decision that the USA would no longer exchange dollars for gold according to the parity determined. The nature of the reactivated Bretton Woods, often called Bretton Woods 2, is well conveyed in the motto used by the authors of this concept: “(…) if I made an agreement with my tailor that whatever money I pay them, it returns to me on the very same day as a loan, I would have no objection at all to ordering more suits from him” (Jacques Rueff, 1965, after Dooley et al. (2003)) The hypothesis of the existence of an informal Breton Woods 2 says that a system has been established in which it is profitable for the Asian countries to finance the US current account deficit, because it allows them to increase their exports to this market. Thus, it supports the economic development of the Asian countries and allows them to create new jobs, which is particularly important in China, where - according to various estimates - each year between 10 and 20 million of jobs should be created, due to migration from rural areas to cities.
19% of jobs in EU15 have been threatened by offshoring 24 . It should be noted, however, that for the developed countries this process does not mean losses of jobs. Mankiw and Swagel 25 cite research results, according to which relocation of jobs abroad may be positively linked to an increase in employment in the home country of the relocating company. It stems from the fact that foreign branches do not compete but rather complement the hitherto activity of companies, and thus help to improve effectiveness and quality, and lower costs, which may lead to an increased market for products or services of the given company, what may in turn result in an increase in employment in the home country. It is first of all the countries capable of manufacturing products and rendering services at a competitive price that gain a major advantage in acquiring new investments and creating new jobs. It is worth adding that the growing significance of offshoring has an impact on the distribution of remuneration in the countries, whose participation in the globalisation process is increasing. The wages of unqualified workers from the developed countries are falling, while workers with higher qualifications from countries with lower labour costs are being better rewarded. Labour costs remain an important, although not a sole, factor of investment attractiveness of a given country. In A.T. Kearney’s research 26 countries from our region, i.e. the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, are in the top eleven offshoring locations.