Stephen Hymer: Life and the Political Economy of Multinational Corporate Capital

This paper provides a short account of Stephen Hymer's lifeand (its link to) his contribution to the theory of the multinationalenterprise (MNE), but mainly the political economy of multinationalcorporate capital. It suggests that as concerns the theory ofthe MNE, Hymer's contribution has in effect predated most currentextant theory. His contribution to the political economy ofmultinational capital, the focus here, is less known, yet ofextraordinary insight and foresight. Hymer predates most importantdebates on what today is called ‘globalisation’and came up with analysis of the highest quality and predictionswhich in the main have stood the test of time. The chief limitationin Hymer's work stems from a tendency to emphasise the monopolyattributes of large MNEs, and the inefficiency and inequityof ‘multinational corporate capital’. In part becauseof this tendency, some of his later work involved predictionsthat did not necessarily and/or fully follow from his analyticalframework, were shaped by ‘ideology’ and were ofvarying agrees of accuracy. Despite limitations, Hymer's overallcontribution and impact fully deserves the almost ‘cult’status he has acquired in the history of economic thought andinternational business scholarship.