International Trade and Finance
Determinants of foreign direct investment: Evidence from a questionnaire survey in the Japanese manufacturing sector
The anatomy of a failed industrial policy: Developing an aluminium industry in Trinidad and Tobago
Internationalization and its possible impact on subjective and objective performance: Evidence from Brazilian TNCs
Offshore orientation of Russian Federation FDI.
The research note analyses the geographical profile of FDI of the Russian Federation, which is characterized by the prevalence of offshore entities and conduit (transshipment) countries. It puts forward a hypothesis about the traditional motives (tax minimization) and the non-traditional motives (insufficient safeguarding of legal business, poor level of financial market development, high incidence of monopolization) for this phenomenon. The hypothesis is supported by methodological and empirical arguments constructed against the background of trends and practices in the BRICS and developed economies.
EU enlargement and consequences for FDI assisted industrial development
The single European market, the European Monetary Union and United States and Japanese FDI flows to the EU
How TNC subsidiaries shine in world cities: Policy implications of autonomy and network connections
The study examines the relationship between performance and patterns of autonomy and the network relationships used by the foreign subsidiaries of transnational corporations (TNCs) in world cities compared to those subsidiaries outside these locations. This is done by exploring if these patterns differ in foreign subsidiaries in Greater Copenhagen compared to elsewhere in Demark. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the relationships between performance and the autonomy and network structures in foreign subsidiaries. These findings are discussed and policy implications distilled. The study finds that the scope of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) policy could be usefully extended to encompass urban development thereby helping cities develop assets, institutional support and infrastructure that can enhance agglomeration benefits and global connectivity. The findings indicate policies, aimed at helping subsidiaries embed in host location networks and incorporate these networks into other parts of the parent company, could be beneficial. The paper also discusses economic and social inequality that can stem from network patterns and the inclination of subsidiaries to operate autonomously in world cities. It proposes policy options that can lead subsidiaries to undertake high-value activities and innovation in world cities.
Developing country FDI and development: The case of Chinese FDI in the Sudan
Research note: Urgent tasks for research on Russian TNCs
A half-century of resistance to corporate disclosure
As the complexity of transnational corporations (TNCs) grew in the post-war period, their effective degree of disclosure diverged from what is standardly expected of single-country firms. Country-by-country reporting is the key proposal to reestablish appropriate TNC disclosure, and ultimately TNC accountability – and as such, has been consistently resisted by many TNCs, professional services firms and some key headquarters countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This paper charts two main waves of pressure for progress. The first, most visible from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, reflects the claims of the New International Economic Order and the rise of the G77 group of countries, while the second saw international civil society take a leading role. The current phase sees these two impulses combine and may finally deliver meaningful progress. The paper addresses both the political underpinnings and the developing technical component to the claims for deeper TNC disclosure, ultimately shaped into the pursuit of an international standard for public, country-by-country reporting – and the resistance to it. The paper also provides illustrative results based on the existing country-by-country reporting data for banks. It concludes with a discussion of the prospects for country-by-country reporting.
Focused section: Perspectives on COVID-19 and international production: Introduction to the focused section: COVID-19 and international production
The global economy is in the midst of a severe crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate impact on international production is dramatic. Projections in the World Investment Report 2020 (WIR2020) show a decline in FDI of up to 40 per cent this year, with no recovery expected until 2022 (Figure 1).
From special economic zones to greater special economic region – Hong Kong special administrative region as a model for legal infrastructure design
This article examines the key aspects of the legal infrastructure design of special economic zones (SEZs), with reference to the best practice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR) under “One Country, Two Systems” and the Basic Law. It discusses some recent initiatives of the Hong Kong SAR in respect of innovations in dispute resolution mechanisms and creative use of modern technology to illustrate how SEZs can respond to contemporary challenges and opportunities. In particular, this article discusses the Guangdong–Hong Kong– Macao Greater Bay Area, which sheds light on a new model of collaboration and partnership between SEZs, and explores the possibility and potential for SEZs to serve as the building blocks for the eventual establishment of a new paradigm of greater special economic region.
UNCTAD Insights: Assessing the impact of foreign ownership on firm performance by size: Evidence from firms in developed and developing countries
Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are frequently credited with a wide range of benefits for recipient economies. This research investigates the impact mechanics of FDI by mapping the extent to which firms are owned by foreigners against their performance. Firms in both developed and developing countries are included in the study and the performance indicators used are growth in sales, employment and labour productivity. Based on data from more than 80,000 firms during the period 2010 to 2019, this research is unique because it compares the performance of foreign-owned and domestic firms of different sizes. While the preliminary results show foreign ownership overall does give firms an edge on performance, there is no consistent evidence that this is so by firm size. However, across all developing regions, the study consistently finds that foreign ownership has a positive impact on the sales and productivity growth of micro-size firms. This calls for more research on and policy experimentation with outward-oriented and innovative start-ups.
Supplementing development goals to boost economic growth
Trade: The key to a sustainable post-2015 development agenda
Beyond 2015: Tackling inequality to help lift more people out of poverty
Cross-border e-commerce helps SMEs reach global markets
Junpu is a small village of 3,000 residents in China’s southern province of Guangdong, which was very poor before the fast development of e-commerce in China. Today, more than two-thirds of the residents make their living on Taobao, China’s largest e-commerce site, selling local produces and other popular products to domestic and international customers through more than 3,000 online stores operated from the village. The village also has a ‘Taobao Academy’ providing training to aspiring young people who have just started their online businesses.
Special economic zones: methodological issues and definition
Over the decades, the universe of special economic zones (SEZs) has become considerably more complex with the multiplication of “zones” with new and modified objectives. This research note has two objectives. First, it provides a more complete clarification of terminologies in use. This is intended to facilitate the identification of the different types of SEZs - a term that UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019 (WIR 2019) utilizes as generic concept - and to highlight the key differences between SEZs and free zones, the term in popular use prior to WIR 2019. Second, this research note describes the key differences between SEZs and free zones by major geographical regions and countries.