Washington: A key economic advisor to US President George W Bush has come in for sharp criticism by both Democrats and Republicans for defending outsourcing of IT jobs to countries like India.

Gregory Mankiw, Bush's Council of Economic Advisors' chairman and noted Harvard economist, was attacked by the Speaker of the House of Representatives J Dennis Hastert and Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator John F Kerry for suggesting that outsourcing to India and other countries in which they have a comparative advantage is a "win-win" situation for both the exporter and importer.

"I understand that Mr Mankiw is a brilliant economic theorist but his theory fails a basic test of real economics. We can't have a healthy economy unless we have more jobs here in America," said Speaker Hastert, the Legislative leader of the Republicans.

Joining the Republican Speaker in attacking outsourcing, Senator Kerry said that if he becomes President, his economic policy would be "not to export American jobs but to reward companies for creating and keeping jobs in America".

In response to Hastert's remarks, Mankiw said in a statement, "Some of my recent comments on outsourcing have been misinterpreted. It is regrettable whenever anyone leaves a job. Some would respond to the recent challenges facing the economy by erecting trade barriers. History teaches that a retreat to economic isolationism would mean lower living standards for American workers and their families."