Nation States And The Multinational Corporation

What makes a country attractive to foreign investors? To what extent do conditions of governance and politics matter? This book provides the most systematic exploration to date of these crucial questions at the nexus of politics and economics. Using quantitative data and interviews with investment promotion agencies, investment location consultants, political risk insurers, and decision makers at multinational corporations, Nathan Jensen arrives at a surprising conclusion: Countries may be competing for international capital, but government fiscal policy--both taxation and spending--has little impact on multinationals' investment decisions. Although government policy has a limited ability to determine patterns of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, political institutions are central to explaining why some countries are more successful in attracting international capital. First, democratic institutions lower political risks for multinational corporations. Indeed, they lead to massive amounts of foreign direct investment. Second, politically federal institutions, in contrast to fiscally federal institutions, lower political risks for multinationals and allow host countries to attract higher levels of FDI inflows. Third, the International Monetary Fund, often cited as a catalyst for promoting foreign investment, actually deters multinationals from investment in countries under IMF programs. Even after controlling for the factors that lead countries to seek IMF support, IMF agreements are associated with much lower levels of FDI inflows.

Compilation of papers on the nature, structure and functioning of the multinational enterprise in relation to the country in which it operates - covers political aspects, the impact on international relations, legal aspects, financial aspects, taxation, ownership, future trends, etc. Bibliography pp. 168 to 182, diagram and references.

Monograph on foreign policies and economic policies of the USA with regard to foreign investment, economic relations and multinational enterprises (role of USA) - shows the reciprocal interaction of economics and politics in today's world. References and statistical tables.

Examines the role of multinational corporations in the economy of the world and their effect on governments, taxpayers, consumers, workers, and businessmen.

Annotated bibliography of books and periodical articles published from 1964 to 1971 on political aspects of multinational enterprise and the impact thereof on international relations and national sovereignty - includes material on foreign investment, foreign enterprise, taxation, trade, etc.

Multinationals in the Global Political Economy looks at the new diplomacy between the multinational firm and the nation-state, focusing on the interdependencies, conflictual and co-operative, between the two primary actors in the global economy. An international group of scholars (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Sweden) from a variety of disciplines (international relations, political science, public policy, economics and business studies) discuss the theory and practice of MNE-state relations in the 1990s.