Nation-States and the Multinational Corporation


Book Description

What makes a country attractive to foreign investors? To what extent do conditions of governance and politics matter? This book provides the most systematic exploration to date of these crucial questions at the nexus of politics and economics. Using quantitative data and interviews with investment promotion agencies, investment location consultants, political risk insurers, and decision makers at multinational corporations, Nathan Jensen arrives at a surprising conclusion: Countries may be competing for international capital, but government fiscal policy--both taxation and spending--has little impact on multinationals' investment decisions. Although government policy has a limited ability to determine patterns of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, political institutions are central to explaining why some countries are more successful in attracting international capital. First, democratic institutions lower political risks for multinational corporations. Indeed, they lead to massive amounts of foreign direct investment. Second, politically federal institutions, in contrast to fiscally federal institutions, lower political risks for multinationals and allow host countries to attract higher levels of FDI inflows. Third, the International Monetary Fund, often cited as a catalyst for promoting foreign investment, actually deters multinationals from investment in countries under IMF programs. Even after controlling for the factors that lead countries to seek IMF support, IMF agreements are associated with much lower levels of FDI inflows.













Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy


Book Description

For many years to come this volume. . .is surely going to be the ultimate reference work on international business. . . thanks to Dunning and Lundan, have at their disposal, a wealth of relevant data, as well as theoretical and empirical analyses, which will enable them to assess the capabilities, contributions and challenges posed by the multinational enterprises to the global economy. Seev Hirsch, International Business Review Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy has become a classic in international business. . . Yet , the book s second edition is even better than the first, in part because of Professor Dunning s wise decision to choose Dr Lundan as his co-author and to draw upon her deep knowledge of various strands of research on business government relations and the societal effects of firm behaviour. . . In addition to being a remarkably useful reference book, Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy is the first book any IB doctoral student should read to understand the significance and richness of IB scholarship as it has developed over the past 50 years. Alain Verbeke, Journal of International Business Studies The second edition of Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy provides unparalleled coverage not only of the literature relevant to IB research but also of the evolution of IB in the world economy. Dunning and Lundan offer powerful insights into the societal effects of MNEs and the role of business government relations in the IB context. Journal of International Business Studies This wonderful book offers the definitive synthesis of the modern literature on the economic aspects of international business. It is encyclopedic yet full of incisive insights. It is a creative masterpiece which unbundles the DNA of the multinational enterprise and shows how it is the cornerstone of the field of international business. Alan M. Rugman, University of Reading, UK The rise of the multinational enterprise, and the consequent globalisation of the world economy, was arguably the single most important phenomenon of the second half of the twentieth century. This magisterial book, written by two leading authorities, examines this phenomenon in depth. It explains how foreign investment by multinationals diffused advanced technologies and novel management methods, driving productivity growth in Europe, Asia and North America; however, economic inequalities were reinforced as rich countries attracted more foreign investment than poor ones. This new edition of a classic work is not only an authoritative guide to contemporary multinational business, but a major historical resource for the future. Mark Casson, University of Reading, UK This thoroughly updated and revised edition of a widely acclaimed, classic text will be required reading for academics, policymakers and advanced students of international business worldwide. Employing a distinctive and unified framework, this book draws together research across a range of academic fields to offer a synthesis of the determinants of MNE activity, and its effects on the economic and social well-being of developed and developing countries. Unique to the new edition is its focus on the institutional underpinnings of the resources and capabilities of MNEs, and the role of MNE activity in transmitting and facilitating institutional change. Since the initial publication of this book more than a decade ago, the economic, managerial and social implications of globalisation and technological advancement have become even more varied and prominent. Accompanying these developments, there has been a rise in scholarly interest in interdisciplinary research addressing the important challenges of an ever-changing physical and human environment. Drawing on articles and books from international business and economics, as well as economic geography, political economy and strategic management, a systematic overview of the developments in scholarly thinking is prese




Multinational Enterprises and Host Country Development


Book Description

Multinational Enterprises and Host Country Development is a unique collection of papers looking at different aspects of the link between multinational enterprises and their effects on the host countries' economies. The volume studies effects of multinationals on R&D, innovation, productivity, wages, as well as growth and survival of firms in the host countries, and distinguishes direct and indirect effects through spillovers. All the analyses are conducted using firm level data for countries as diverse as China, Ireland, Sweden, Ghana, the UK or a group of countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This volume is a valuable reading for graduate students and researchers wishing to investigate the impact of multinationals.




Global Goliaths


Book Description

How multinationals contribute, or don't, to global prosperity Globalization and multinational corporations have long seemed partners in the enterprise of economic growth: globalization-led prosperity was the goal, and giant corporations spanning the globe would help achieve it. In recent years, however, the notion that all economies, both developed and developing, can prosper from globalization has been called into question by political figures and has fueled a populist backlash around the world against globalization and the corporations that made it possible. In an effort to elevate the sometimes contentious public debate over the conduct and operation of multinational corporations, this edited volume examines key questions about their role, both in their home countries and in the rest of the world where they do business. Is their multinational nature an essential driver of their profits? Do U.S. and European multinationals contribute to home country employment? Do multinational firms exploit foreign workers? How do multinationals influence foreign policy? How will the rise of the digital economy and digital trade in services affect multinationals? In addressing these and similar questions, the book also examines the role that multinational corporations play in the outcomes that policymakers care about most: economic growth, jobs, inequality, and tax fairness.




Multinational Enterprises, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in Africa


Book Description

How can Africa, the world’s most lagging region, benefit from globalisation and achieve sustained economic growth? Africa needs greater investment by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) to improve competitiveness and generate more growth through positive spill-over effects. Despite the fact that Africa’s returns on investment averaged 29% since 1990, Africa has gained merely 1% of global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows. The challenge for African countries is how to be a more desirable destination for FDI. The study integrates three currents of economic research, namely from the literature on (endogenous) economic growth, convergence and regional integration, the explanations for Africa’s poor growth and the growing understanding of the role of MNEs in a global economy. The empirical side of the book is based on an econometric study of the determinants of FDI in Africa as well as a detailed firm-level survey conducted in 2000.