By critically appraising current theories of both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and agglomeration, this book explores the variety of links that exist between these two externality-creating phenomena. Using in-depth empirical research on Mexico, Jacob Jordaan constructs and analyzes several datasets on Mexican manufacturing industries at various geographical scales, creating innovative models on FDI externalities that incorporate explicitly regional considerations. The empirical findings identify both direct FDI spillover effects as well as the effects of agglomeration on these externalities. In extension of this, the analysis also contains analysis of FDI productivity effects that arise through inter-firm linkages between FDI and local Mexican suppliers.

Depending on one's point of view, multinational enterprises are either the heroes or the villains of the globalized economy. Governments compete fiercely for foreign direct investment by such companies, but complain when firms go global and move their activities elsewhere. Multinationals are seen by some as threats to national identities and wealth and are accused of riding roughshod over national laws and of exploiting cheap labor. However, the debate on these companies and foreign direct investment is rarely grounded on sound economic arguments. This book brings clarity to the debate. With the contribution of other leading experts, Giorgio Barba Navaretti and Anthony Venables assess the determinants of multinationals' actions, investigating why their activity has expanded so rapidly, and why some countries have seen more such activity than others. They analyze their effects on countries that are recipients of inward investments, and on those countries that see multinational firms moving jobs abroad. The arguments are made using modern advances in economic analysis, a case study, and by drawing on the extensive empirical literature that assesses the determinants and consequences of activity by multinationals. The treatment is rigorous, yet accessible to all readers with a background in economics, whether students or professionals. Drawing out policy implications, the authors conclude that multinational enterprises are generally a force for the promotion of prosperity in the world economy.

The "pollution haven" hypothesis states that multinational firms, particularly those in highly polluting industries, relocate to countries with weak environmental standards. Despite the plausibility and popularity of this hypothesis, Smarzynska and Wei find only weak evidence in its favor.

Since the turn of the century, the liberalization of capital markets has caused exponential growth of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, developments in recent years have shown that countries have placed limitations on foreign investors. In addition, dynamic economic developments in the surge of financial and economic crisis and later have clearly exposed the possibility that FDI will change course and result in foreign direct divestment. This book looks at specific country experiences related to FDI as well as determinants of FDI that could be connected to the new course of divestment.

This book presents the results of a groundbreaking study on ‘spillovers’ of knowledge and technology from global value-chain oriented foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and discusses implications for policymakers hoping to harness the power of FDI for economic development.

This paper presents evidence on whether multinationals are flocking to developing country 'pollution havens'. Although we find some evidence that foreign investors locate in sectors with high levels of air pollution, the evidence is weak at best. We then examine whether foreign firms pollute less than their peers. We find that foreign plants are significantly more energy efficient and use cleaner types of energy. We conclude with an analysis of US outbound investment. Although the pattern of US foreign investment is skewed towards industries with high costs of pollution abatement, the results are not robust across specifications.