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.

The spillover effect of multinational companies has, historically, been subject to much debate. The assumption that the host country can be expected to enjoy spillovers – improvements in the balance of payments, in the influx of foreign currency and in other sectors of the economy not directly affected by the multinational – has not necessarily been corroborated in practice. First published in 1989, this book addresses this debate, and the very different conclusions that can be drawn about spillovers. Reporting on significant research on Latin America and drawing comparisons with findings elsewhere, Foreign Investment and Spillovers provides students and researchers with a truly international perspective.

China has become such an important element of the global economy that its influence cannot be ignored in almost any field of endeavour. The phenomenal impact of FDI in China and its (largely trade-related) consequences has been well documented and now there is a significant literature on the phenomenon of outward investment from China too. This book is an in depth study of the international business relationships of China covering both inward and outward foreign direct investment, its impact and related theoretical and policy issues. This volume of highly renowned author Peter Buckley's collected papers from 2005-8 continues his interest in the theory of international business (Section I) and policies towards foreign direct investment (FDI) (Section IV) but has a major concentration on China, both as regards outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from China (Section II) and FDI in China (Section III).

The role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in international capital flows is examined. Theories of the determinants of FDI are surveyed, and the economic consequences of FDI for both host (recipient) and home (investor) nations are examined in light of empirical studies. Policy issues surrounding possible negotiation of a “multilateral agreement on investment” are discussed.

A collection of papers on the determinants and consequences of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the real and financial sectors of industrial countries. The text sheds new light on the determinants of FDI, in particular the role of governmental incentives. Another main topic is the role of FDI in the east European accession countries. It provides insights into the question of whether EU enlargement will have consequences for capital flows into those countries. Since the start of European monetary union, the discussion on cross-border mergers in the European banking industry has intensified. The final part of the book contains contributions to this debate.

This paper focuses on the role of absorptive capacity in determining whether or not domestic firms benefit from productivity spillovers from FDI using establishment level data for the UK. We allow for different effects of FDI on establishments located at different quantiles of the productivity distribution by using conditional quantile regression. Overall, while there is some heterogeneity in results across sectors and quantiles, our findings clearly suggest that absorptive capacity matters for productivity spillover benefits. We find evidence for a u-shaped relationship between productivity growth and FDI interacted with absorptive capacity. We also analyse in some detail the impact of changes in absorptive capacity on establishments' ability to benefit from spillovers.

People passionately disagree about the nature of the globalization process. The failure of both the 1999 and 2003 World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial conferences in Seattle and Cancun, respectively, have highlighted the tensions among official, international organizations like the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, nongovernmental and private sector organizations, and some developing country governments. These tensions are commonly attributed to longstanding disagreements over such issues as labor rights, environmental standards, and tariff-cutting rules. In addition, developing countries are increasingly resentful of the burdens of adjustment placed on them that they argue are not matched by commensurate commitments from developed countries. Challenges to Globalization evaluates the arguments of pro-globalists and anti-globalists regarding issues such as globalization's relationship to democracy, its impact on the environment and on labor markets including the brain drain, sweat shop labor, wage levels, and changes in production processes, and the associated expansion of trade and its effects on prices. Baldwin, Winters, and the contributors to this volume look at multinational firms, foreign investment, and mergers and acquisitions and present surprising findings that often run counter to the claim that multinational firms primarily seek countries with low wage labor. The book closes with papers on financial opening and on the relationship between international economic policies and national economic growth rates.