The Impact Of U S Foreign Direct Investment On U S Employment And Trade

It is not in the US interest to adopt tax and regulatory policies that would discourage global engagement by US multinational corporations (MNCs). Research presented in this book shows that the expansion of foreign affiliates of US MNCs is positively associated with more production, greater employment, higher exports, and more research and development (R&D) in the United States. These findings suggest that less investment abroad by US firms would weaken—not strengthen—the US economy. This analysis by no means implies that there are only winners and no losers from outward investment. Changing patterns of MNC investment, like changing patterns of technology and production more generally, contribute to job losses and dislocations for some workers and to new opportunities for others. To benefit the US economy and US workers most broadly, the United States will want to search for ways to strengthen the appeal of the United States as a base for the operations of international firms. High among the recommendations to accomplish this, the United States should adopt a territorial tax system, like the great majority of developed countries.

This book is a survey and discussion of some of the issues surrounding foreign direct investment in the U.S., focusing on economic impacts. Written during the late-1980's, the time period was one during which Japanese direct investment in the U.S. was sparking considerable controversy and debate about the nature of the contribution such investment made to the U.S. economy.

We compare the relation between foreign affiliate production and parent employment in U.S. manufacturing multinationals with that in Swedish firms. U.S. multinationals appear to have allocated some of their more labor intensive operations selling in world markets to affiliates in developing countries, reducing the labor intensity in their home production. Swedish multinationals produce relatively little in developing countries and most of that has been for sale within host countries with import-substituting trade regimes. The great majority of Swedish affiliate production is in high-income countries, the U.S. and Europe, and is associated with more employment, particularly blue-collar employment, in the parent companies. The small Swedish-owned production that does take place in developing countries is also associated with more white-collar employment at home. The effects on white-collar employment within the Swedish firms have grown smaller and weaker over time.

Americans have long been ambivalent toward foreign direct investment in the United States. Foreign multinational corporations may be a source of capital, technology, and jobs. But what are the implications for US workers, firms, communities, and consumers as the United States remains the most popular destination for foreign multinational investment? Theodore H. Moran and Lindsay Oldenski find that foreign multinational firms that invest in the United States are, alongside US-headquartered American multinationals, the most productive and highest-paying segment of the US economy. These firms conduct more research and development, provide more value added to US domestic inputs, and export more goods and services than other firms in the US economy. The superior technology and management techniques they employ spill over horizontally and vertically to improve the performance of local firms and workers. As the United States wants not only to expand employment but also create well-paying jobs that reverse the falling earnings that many US workers and middle class families have suffered in recent decades, it is more important than ever to enhance the United States as a destination for multinational investors