Foreign direct investment and factor prices in U.S. manufacturing

Foreign Direct Investment and Factor Prices in U.S. Manufacturing. —We investigate whether inward foreign direct investment (FDI) can explain part of the increase in relative wages of skilled workers in U.S. manufacturing over the period 1977–1994 by studying the sector bias of the effects of FDI on sector prices and technology. We follow the two-stage mandated-wage approach based on the StolperSamuelson theorem. We find that inward FDI affects the sum of sector prices and productivity depending on the absorptive capacity available in the sector. We also find some evidence that inward FDI has induced a sector bias towards using skilled workers over the period 1977–1994.     

Trade regimes and spillover effects of FDI: Evidence from Uruguay

Trade Regimes and Spillover Effects of FDI: Evidence from Uruguay. — This paper examines differences in the character and impact of FDI entering Uruguay during import substitution, pursued until 1973, and the subsequent more outwardoriented trade regime. Regression analysis shows that the labor productivity of local firms is positively related to the presence of older import-substituting MNCs in their industry. The presence of foreign affiliates established after 1973 has no apparent impact on local productivity, but seems to raise the likelihood that local firms engage in exporting. This may be a sign of export spillovers, indicating that local firms may pick up some exportrelated skills from the operations of outward-oriented foreign MNCs.     

In search of FDI-transmitted R&D spillovers: A study based on Swedish data

In Search of FDI-Transmitted R& D Spillovers: A Study Based on Swedish Data. — This paper analyzes empirically whether inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) work as channels for international R&D spillovers. The authors utilize firm-level and industry-level data for Swedish manufacturing. Hardly any evidence of FDI-related R&D spillovers is found. But while the results do not provide support for the hypothesis that the activity level of MNEs’ affiliates matters for the extent of FDI-transmitted international spillovers, they suggest that utilizing foreign affiliates’ employment as a weighting scheme may be too crude a measure. The authors’ analysis shows indeed that the type of activity — R&D or assembly — carried out in the affiliates matters significantly for technology sourcing.     

Foreign direct investment and productivity spillovers: Evidence from the Spanish experience

Foreign Direct Investment and Productivity Spillovers: Evidence from the Spanish Experience. — The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on firms’ productivity using a panel of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990–1998. Firstly, we show that for countries, like Spain, that are undergoing significant structural changes over the period in question it is important to control for both time-invariant as well as time-variant sectoral characteristics. Secondly, we confirm previous findings that one needs to take into account the “absorptive capacity” of firms when considering whether they are able to avail of externalities associated with FDI presence. For the Spanish case we find that only firms with sufficient levels of such capacity experience positive spillovers.     

Exchange rate expectations and foreign direct investment flows

Exchange Rate Expectations and Foreign Direct Investment Flows. — Theories about exchange rate expectations are difficult to check empirically. We study FDI data to find indirect evidence on the formation of exchange rate expectations by foreign direct investors. Using panel data techniques on exchange rate movements and FDI flows from the United States to 20 OECD countries we find that skewness of devaluations has a robust positive impact on FDI flows while average devaluation and its volatility do not. We view this evidence as consistent with the hypothesis that relatively large exchange rate movements generate mean-reverting long-run expectations. This finding is consistent with survey-based evidence on exchange rate expectations.     

Insurance redlining and the process of discrimination

Insurance redlining and the racially discriminatory consequences of the sale of property insurance have been documented in several cities throughout the United States. In this study teams of “testers”—comparably qualified insurance consumers who differed only in the racial composition of the neighborhood of the homes they sought to insure—contacted three Milwaukee area insurance companies regarding the possibility of purchasing insurance for their homes. Though no blatantly discriminatory behavior was exhibited, agents representing these companies expressed a clear preference to pursue business in white communities and placed additional barriers in the way of testers from nonwhite neighborhoods. These findings parallel changes in other institutional sectors of the housing industry where blatantly discriminatory behavior has generally given way to more subtle forms of bias. Policy recommendations are offered to reduce existing racial disparities in the availability of insurance and to open up housing markets in general for minorities.     

European exports and outward foreign direct investment: A dynamic panel data approach

European Exports and Outward Foreign Direct Investment: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach. — This paper implements a panel data approach for studying the determinants of and relationships between bilateral economic activities in terms of both trade and foreign direct investment between the EU member states. The familiar equation for testing the determinants of bilateral exports is reformulated to reflect recent theoretical work. It is specified as a dynamic panel data model designed to answer questions about their relationship according to changes in different exogenous determinants. Exports and stocks of outward FDI are found to be substitutes with respect to changes in transport costs and complements with respect to most of the other determinants.     

日本在亚洲对外直接投资的地域分布研究

当前日本对外直接投资研究文献多侧重于跨过公司的经济动机,往往忽略了投资所在地的社会、经济以及地理等因素的综合影响。根据古典引力理论和地缘经济学中的经济潜力观点,社会、经济及地理等多种因素影响了对外直接投资决策。实证分析结果表明,若干社会及地缘经济变量能够较好地解释日本在亚洲的对外直接投资的地域分布。     

Dissipation of Knowledge and the Boundaries of the Multinational Enterprise

This paper provides a theoretical formalization of the joint-venture contract, as an alternative to foreign direct investment (FDI), within a Dissipation of Intangible Assets (DIA) framework. In a two-period model, we discuss how the threat of knowledge spillover shapes the boundaries of a multinational enterprise (MNE). Similarly to the theoretical findings on the FDI-licensing trade-off, we show that the integrated solution is more likely to emerge when know-how easily spills over—i.e., when firms are endowed with more intangible assets or they belong to high-tech industries. Probit estimates, from a new firm-level data set, show that Japanese manufacturing operations in Europe are in line with these predictions. JEL no. F23, C25, O5     

服务业与制造业对华FDI区位选择的差异——基于存量调整模型的实证研究

选取我国省级细分行业面板数据,利用存量调整模型,对服务业与制造业的对华FDI区位选择的差异进行了研究。结果表明:与经济发达国家不同,处于转轨阶段的中国制造业FDI存量调整到均衡水平的速度快于服务业;服务业和制造业跨国公司在中国投资时,服务业FDI看重市场规模和基础设施水平,受集聚因素的影响不显著,制造业则看重市场规模和劳动力成本,倾向于投资到产业集聚度高的地区。此外,由于政府优惠政策多向制造业倾斜,因而地方政府控制力越大越有利于吸引制造业FDI,而不利于吸引服务业FDI。     

Do Foreign Investors Care about Labor Market Regulations?

This study investigates whether labor market flexibility affects foreign direct investment (FDI) flows across 19 Western and Eastern European countries. The analysis uses firm level data on new investments undertaken in the period 1998–2001. The study employs a variety of proxies for labor market regulations reflecting the flexibility of individual and collective dismissals, the length of the notice period and the required severance payment along with controls for business climate characteristics. The results suggest that greater flexibility in the host country’s labor market in absolute terms or relative to that in the investor’s home country is associated with larger FDI inflows. JEL no. F21, F23, J0     

外商投资的技术溢出效应：基于企业特征视角的考察——以江苏为例

引进跨国公司先进技术和管理经验是中国吸收FDI主要目的之一。本文运用1990-2003年江苏制造业数据．实证检验企业外商所有权份额、内外资企业技术差距、内资企业规模及资本密集度与FDI溢出效应的关系，并对回归结果进行分析。结果显示，FDI存在着对内资企业正的溢出效应．但溢出规模并不是在任何情况下总是相等。溢出规模既取决于外商所有权份额、内外资企业技术差距，又与内资企业规模、资本密集度有关。防范外商行业垄断，形成有效的竞争市场；加速内资企业发展．提高对新技术的识别、模仿及自主创新能力；促使内外资企业人员双向流动，能够有效地发挥FDI对中国经济的促进作用。     

“Following” or “attracting” the customer? Japanese Banking FDI in Europe

Using firm-level Japanese FDI data on investment into 18 European countries between 1970–2000 in all industries (banking, manufacturing, wholesale/retail distribution, and business services), this study examines if the “follow the customer” (FTC) hypothesis holds for firm-level data. The results suggest that banks do follow their customers into a foreign market, as part of a larger strategy that goes beyond the FTC theory. The firm level data show that the majority of FDI into a host country occurs after the foreign bank has established operations. Policy implications of this finding include the suggestion that host economies liberalize their financial sector early in an effort to attract banking FDI which then will attract non-banking FDI rather than the reverse.     

日本跨国公司在山东省直接投资的内生增长模型分析

文章借鉴了内生增长模型的核心思想,在领先国--追随国模型的基础上,提出并利用跨国公司--本土企业模型来分析目前日本跨国公司对山东省直接投资的利与弊.在肯定了日本跨国公司过去十几年间对山东省经济发展做出大量贡献并分析其原因的同时,也指出目前日本跨国公司在山东省的经营仍有诸多需要改进之处,并提出大力引导大型跨国公司来山东省投资,防止出现"集体外逃"事件,在保持东部地区发展的同时注意引导跨国公司去山东省的中西部地区投资,吸引更多的日本R&D投资以及管理层本土化等政策建议.     

Measuring Restrictiveness of Bilateral Trade Policies: A Comparison between Developed and Developing Countries

This paper compares the degree of openness to trade of three developed countries markets—the European Union, Japan, the United States—with that of three middle-income countries, namely Brazil, India, and China. A theoretically consistent protection measure—the Mercantilistic Trade Restrictiveness Index (MTRI)—is employed to average tariffs at different levels of aggregation. The computation relies on a comparative static applied general equilibrium model (Global Trade Analysis Project—GTAP) featuring imperfect competition as well as on the bilateral applied tariffs included in the most recent version of the GTAP database. Results provide a different picture from what could have been expected given the widely publicized diffusion of preferential schemes supposedly favoring developing countries exports. JEL no.  F17, C68, Q17     

The Buffer Stock Model Redux? An Analysis of the Dynamics of Foreign Reserve Accumulation

Cointegration analysis suggests that the buffer stock precautionary model accounts for the optimal reserve demand in nine developing countries located in Asia and Latin America. The corresponding VECMs are further interpolated, using the permanent and transitory innovation decomposition procedure, in order to assess the relative impact of the time series on the convergence to equilibrium after a shock. Finally the (asymmetric) effect on the speed of convergence of positive/negative changes in signal variables—such as the excess reserves of the previous period, relative competitiveness and US monetary stance—is found to be significant, in line with mercantilistic and fear of floating motives for hoarding reserves.     

FDI and the relevance of spatial linkages: do third-country effects matter for Dutch FDI?

The aim of this paper is to test for the relevance of spatial linkages for Dutch (outbound) foreign direct investment (FDI). We estimate a spatial lag model for Dutch FDI to 18 host countries. After controlling for fixed effects, we find for our sample period 1984–2004 that third-country effects matter. Apart from our benchmark spatial lag model, we also estimate various alternative models by looking at European host FDI countries only, by dividing FDI into industry and services FDI, and by estimating a spatial error model.

Structural Breaks and Spatial Linkages in FDI: Further Evidence in OECD Countries

This paper evaluates the knowledge–capital model (KCM) of foreign direct investment (FDI) as defined by Braconier et al. (Rev Int Econ 13(4):770-786, 2005). The model predicts that there are both horizontal and vertical motivations for engaging in FDI. The horizontal motives regard access to new markets in the case of trade frictions, whereas the vertical motivations imply that multinational enterprises seek to take advantage of relative skill differences in different countries. The impact of the vertical component in the KCM has been largely debated and thereby is of the greatest interest. Another issue addressed in the study is the relevance of spatial interdependencies in FDI flow. To check for these kinds of FDI determinants the KCM model is augmented with a surrounding market potential and a spatial lag term. By using large data sets for FDI stocks among OECD countries from 1982 to 2003 along with structural breaks and spatial econometric techniques, the paper evaluates the significance of traditional and spatial FDI determinants. The results show that the vertical component is indeed important, even for FDI among OECD countries, but that this importance is clearly decreasing over time. The findings point towards the existence of spatial linkages that are also compatible with export-platform motivations.     

Portfolio modelling and growth in open economies

The standard BRANSON model is modified in a way which allows one to focus on the short term dynamics of foreign bonds markets, the money market and the stock market—or alternatively the oil market. This allows us to explain the dynamics of the exchange rate and the oil price within a portfolio choice model; also we identify critical expectation dynamics in a more conventional pricing approach to the oil market—expectations determine whether or not the oil market equilibrium is compatible with a stationary price or with sustained oil price inflation. Moreover, a straightforward innovative way to combine a portfolio approach with a growth model is developed. New results are obtained—through multiplier analysis—about the long term effects of changes in the savings rate, the process innovation rate, the product innovation variable and the money supply on the exchange rate and the stock market price; this raises many empirical issues. Finally, the analysis presented sheds new light on the global asset price dynamics in the context of the banking crisis. To the memory of Edward Graham, Petersen Institute for International Economics, Washington D.C.