Eric D. Ramstetter

Comparisons of Foreign Multinationals and Local Firms in Asian Manufacturing over Time

This paper first shows that shares of foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) in the manufacturing sectors of five Asian host economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan) were generally large in terms of exports, small in terms of employment and moderate in terms of production. Correspondingly, the average product of labour and export propensities were often significantly higher in foreign MNCs than in local firms. In addition, foreign MNCs tended to be relatively large and to have relatively high average capital productivity, capital intensity, skilled-labour intensity, R&D intensity, profit rates and import propensities, but relatively low shares of labour compensation in value added, and these differences were also statistically significant in many cases. Differences between wholly- or heavily-foreign plants and foreign plants with lower foreign ownership shares were also significant in many cases and generally in the same direction as the differences between MNCs and local plants noted above. Differences among MNCs by foreign source were generally small and insignificant in Hong Kong. In Singapore, European and US firms tended to be larger and characterized by relatively high average labour productivity, capital intensity, profitability and export propensities, but relatively low shares of labour compensation in value added compared to Japanese and other Asian firms.

Japanese exports, MNC affiliates, and rivalry for export markets

Abstract The foreign operations of a countrys multinational firms (MNCs) are often thought of as competing with the home countrys exports, and thus reducing the demand for labor at home. An alternative view is that these operations are part of the competition among countries for foreign markets, including export markets, and that these foreign operations may tend to expand the home countrys exports by raising the competitiveness of home country firms in host country markets. The results in this paper suggest that the latter view is correct. The level of Japans manufactured exports to a country is positively related to employment in foreign manufacturing affiliates of Japanese MNCs in that country. However, Japanese exports to a host country are negatively related to employment in affiliates of US MNCs in that country. Changes in Japanese exports to a market over a period are also positively related to both the initial level of Japanese affiliate employment and to changes in it, but negatively related to the initial level of US affiliate employment. The economic activities of Japanese manufacturing affiliates promote Japanese exports, while the activities of competing MNCs (US affiliates) reduce Japanese exports.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP AND EXPORTS IN VIETNAMESE MANUFACTURING

This paper analyzes exports of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Vietnamese manufacturing, highlighting the disproportionately large contribution of heavily-foreign MNCs with foreign ownership shares of 90% or more. The exports of heavily-foreign manufacturing MNCs are substantial and concentrated in apparel, footwear, and electric machinery-related industries. Export propensities also tend to be markedly higher in heavily-foreign MNCs than in other MNCs, and these differences generally persist after controlling for the effects industry affiliation, firm size, vintage, and capital intensity. There is a large variation in the relationship between ownership shares and export propensities among industries and years, however.

Recent Trends in China’s Distribution of Income and Consumption: A Review of the Evidence

It is well known that China’s economy has grown very rapidly in recent years, though there is some controversy over precisely how fast economic growth has been. For example, the new (revised) series on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) suggest that between 1993 and 2004, China’s per capita GDP increased 4.1 times in nominal terms and 2.7 times in real terms (Tables 6.1, 6.2).1 The old national estimates suggest a somewhat slower increase, 3.6-fold and 2.3-fold, respectively, but the old region-based estimates indicate a more rapid increase for the nation, 4.4-fold and 3.0-fold, respectively. The new national series is probably the most accurate because it incorporates new data and estimation techniques.

Productivity Spillovers from Foreign Multinationals and Trade Protection: Firm‐Level Analysis of Vietnamese Manufacturing

type=main> This paper examines how the presence of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) affects productivity in domestic private firms in Vietnamese manufacturing in 2005–10. The paper also examines how import protection has affected these productivity spillovers and how spillovers from wholly foreign MNEs and joint ventures differ. The most consistent result suggests wholly foreign MNEs impart negative spillovers while joint ventures tend to generate positive spillovers. Theory and random effects estimates also indicate that import protection reduces local firm productivity and weakens the effect of spillovers from all MNEs; but this result is not obtained when a fixed effects estimator is used. Results are similar in samples of labour-intensive industries, which include close to three fourths of all sample firms, but differ markedly for more capital-intensive groups.

Wage Differentials among Ownership Groups and Worker Quality in Vietnamese Manufacturing

Abstract Wholly foreign multinational enterprises (WFs), joint-venture multinationals (JVs), state-owned enterprises (SOEs) pay higher wages than domestic private firms in Vietnamese manufacturing. In large samples of medium–large (20+ employees) firms, conditional differentials accounting for worker education and occupation, as well as capital intensity, size, and shares of female workers, were substantially smaller, but positive and significant. Wage levels and differentials varied substantially among industries. Conditional differentials remained positive and significant for WFs and JVs in most of the 11 industries examined, but estimates of SOE-private differentials were insignificant in most industries. Robustness checks using 2007 data yielded similar results.