IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cda/wpaper/49.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Veblen-Gerschenkron Effect of FDI in Mezzogiorno and East Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Peri
  • Dieter M. Urban

    (Department of Economics, University of California Davis)

Abstract

The presence of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) should benefit local economies. In particular if MNEs are particularly productive compared to domestic firms they may promote learning and catch-up of local firms. Such channel of spillovers from MNEs to local firms is known as the Veblen Geschenkron effect. Rather than the overall density of MNE in a region or sector, it is their productivity advantage on the local firm to determine the positive effect on domestic productivity growth.We test this hypothesis using firm level data for German and Italian company for the 90''s. and we find evidence of a significant and robust Veblen-Gerschenkrion effect. The initial total factor productivity advantage of MNEs on local firm acts as a stimulus for productivity growth of local firms in the same region.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Peri & Dieter M. Urban, 2003. "The Veblen-Gerschenkron Effect of FDI in Mezzogiorno and East Germany," Working Papers 49, University of California, Davis, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:cda:wpaper:49
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.dss.ucdavis.edu/files/8U35WvqJE6uoQtKt5KcFBAdX/03-1.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brainard, S Lael, 1997. "An Empirical Assessment of the Proximity-Concentration Trade-off between Multinational Sales and Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 520-544, September.
    2. Glass, Amy Jocelyn & Saggi, Kamal, 1998. "International technology transfer and the technology gap," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 369-398, April.
    3. Jonathan E. Haskel & Sonia C. Pereira & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2007. "Does Inward Foreign Direct Investment Boost the Productivity of Domestic Firms?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 482-496, August.
    4. Keller, Wolfgang, 2000. "From socialist showcase to Mezzogiorno? Lessons on the role of technical change from East Germany's post-World War II growth performance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 485-514, December.
    5. Michael Funke & Jörg Rahn, 2002. "How efficient is the East German economy? An exploration with microdata," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 10(1), pages 201-223.
    6. Diebold, Francis X. & Chen, Celia, 1996. "Testing structural stability with endogenous breakpoint A size comparison of analytic and bootstrap procedures," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 221-241, January.
    7. David L. Carr & James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2021. "Estimating The Knowledge-Capital Model of the Multinational Enterprise," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 5, pages 95-110, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Markusen, James R. & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Foreign direct investment as a catalyst for industrial development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 335-356, February.
    9. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-1158, December.
    10. James R. Markusen & Anthony J. Venables, 2021. "Multinational firms and the new trade theory," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 3, pages 47-67, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Rachel Griffith & Stephen Redding & John Van Reenen, 2004. "Mapping the Two Faces of R&D: Productivity Growth in a Panel of OECD Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(4), pages 883-895, November.
    12. Thomas Straubhaar & Marc Suhrcke & Dieter Urban, 2002. "Divergence. Is it Geography?," Development Working Papers 158, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    13. Fosfuri, Andrea & Motta, Massimo & Ronde, Thomas, 2001. "Foreign direct investment and spillovers through workers' mobility," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 205-222, February.
    14. Horstmann, Ignatius J & Markusen, James R, 1987. "Strategic Investments and the Development of Multinationals," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 28(1), pages 109-121, February.
    15. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    16. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 2005. "Outsourcing in a Global Economy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 135-159.
    17. Ronald Findlay, 1978. "Relative Backwardness, Direct Foreign Investment, and the Transfer of Technology: A Simple Dynamic Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 92(1), pages 1-16.
    18. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Multinational Corporations and Spillovers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 8, pages 101-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    19. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2001. "Multinational Firms: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: Topics in Empirical International Economics: A Festschrift in Honor of Robert E. Lipsey, pages 71-98, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Foreign Direct Investment," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-59861-4, October.
    21. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Technology, Market Characteristics and Spillovers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 10, pages 160-176, Palgrave Macmillan.
    22. Grout, Paul A, 1984. "Investment and Wages in the Absence of Binding Contracts: A Nash Bargining Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 449-460, March.
    23. Djankov, Simeon & Hoekman, Bernard M, 2000. "Foreign Investment and Productivity Growth in Czech Enterprises," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 49-64, January.
    24. Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene & Ekholm, Karolina & Braconier, Henrik, 2000. "Does FDI Work as a Channel for R&D Spillovers? Evidence Based on Swedish Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 2469, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    25. Fredrik Sjoholm, 1999. "Technology gap, competition and spillovers from direct foreign investment: Evidence from establishment data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 53-73.
    26. Konings, Jozef, 2000. "The Effects of Direct Foreign Investment on Domestic Firms: Evidence from Firm Level Panel Data in Emerging Economies," CEPR Discussion Papers 2586, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    27. Branstetter, Lee, 2006. "Is foreign direct investment a channel of knowledge spillovers? Evidence from Japan's FDI in the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 325-344, March.
    28. Amy Jocelyn Glass & Kamal Saggi, 1999. "Foreign Direct Investment and the Nature of R&D," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 32(1), pages 92-117, February.
    29. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2002. "Discriminating Among Alternative Theories of the Multinational Enterprise," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 694-707, November.
    30. Gordon H. Hanson & Raymond J. Mataloni, Jr. & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2001. "Expansion Strategies of U.S. Multinational Firms," NBER Working Papers 8433, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    31. Helpman, Elhanan, 1984. "A Simple Theory of International Trade with Multinational Corporations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 451-471, June.
    32. James R. Markusen, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, Spring.
    33. S. Lael Brainard, 1993. "A Simple Theory of Multinational Corporations and Trade with a Trade-Off Between Proximity and Concentration," NBER Working Papers 4269, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Bruce E. Hansen, 2000. "Sample Splitting and Threshold Estimation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(3), pages 575-604, May.
    35. Kinoshita, Yuko, 2001. "R&D and Technology Spillovers through FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    36. repec:lic:licosd:10401 is not listed on IDEAS
    37. Mario Forni & Sergio Paba, 2000. "The Sources of Local Growth: Evidence from Italy," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 59(1), pages 1-49, April.
    38. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 2002. "Integration versus Outsourcing in Industry Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 85-120.
    39. Keller, Wolfgang, 1996. "Absorptive capacity: On the creation and acquisition of technology in development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 199-227, April.
    40. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2001. "General-Equilibrium Approaches to the Multinational Firm: A Review of Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 8334, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    41. Shatz, Howard J. & Venables, Anthony J., 2000. "The geography of international investment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2338, The World Bank.
    42. Wheeler, David & Mody, Ashoka, 1992. "International investment location decisions : The case of U.S. firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 57-76, August.
    43. Veblen, Thorstein, 1915. "Imperial Germany and The Industrial Revolution," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number veblen1915.
    44. Estrin, Saul & Konings, Jozef & Angelucci, Manuela & Zólkiewski, Zbigniew, 2001. "The Effect of Ownership and Competitive Pressure on Firm Performance in Transition Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 2985, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    45. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    46. Dimelis, S. & Louri-Dendrinou, Eleni, 2001. "Foreign Direct Investment and Efficiency Benefits: A Conditional Quantile Analysis," CEPR Discussion Papers 2868, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    47. Howard J. Shatz, 2004. "US multinational affiliate exports from developing countries," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 323-344, June.
    48. Wakelin, Katharine & Girma, Sourafel, 2001. "Regional Underdevelopment: Is FDI the Solution? A Semiparametric Analysis," CEPR Discussion Papers 2995, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    49. Blomström, Magnus & Kokko, Ari & Globerman, Steve, 2000. "The Determinants of Host Country Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment," CEPR Discussion Papers 2350, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lehmann, Harald & Günther, Jutta, 2004. "Technology spillovers from external investors in East Germany: no overall effects in favor of domestic firms," IWH Discussion Papers 198/2004, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    2. Peri, Giovanni & Urban, Dieter, 2006. "Catching-up to foreign technology? Evidence on the "Veblen-Gerschenkron" effect of foreign investments," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 72-98, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giovanni Peri & Dieter Urban, 2002. "The Veblen-Gerschenkron Effect of FDI in Mezzogiorno and East Germany," Development Working Papers 164, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    2. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano & Alessandro Turrini, 2002. "Distance and FDI when Contracts are Incomplete," Development Working Papers 165, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    3. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Greenaway, David & Görg, Holger, 2002. "Much Ado About Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Investment?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3485, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Peri, Giovanni & Urban, Dieter, 2006. "Catching-up to foreign technology? Evidence on the "Veblen-Gerschenkron" effect of foreign investments," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 72-98, January.
    6. Crespo, Nuno & Fontoura, Maria Paula, 2007. "Determinant Factors of FDI Spillovers - What Do We Really Know?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 410-425, March.
    7. Kolasa Marcin, 2008. "How does FDI inflow affect productivity of domestic firms? The role of horizontal and vertical spillovers, absorptive capacity and competition," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 155-173.
    8. Della Temenggung, 2007. "Productivity Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment: Indonesian Manufacturing Industry’s Experience 1975-2000," DEGIT Conference Papers c012_048, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    9. Argentino Pessoa, 2008. "Multinational Corporations, Foreign Investment, and Royalties and License Fees: Effects on Host-Country Total Factor Productivity," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 28, pages 6-31, December.
    10. Nuno Crespo & Maria Paula Fontoura & Isabel Proença, 2009. "FDI spillovers at regional level: Evidence from Portugal," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(3), pages 591-607, August.
    11. Neil Foster-McGregor, 2012. "Innovation and Technology Transfer across Countries," wiiw Research Reports 380, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    12. Erdey, László, 2004. "A működőtőke-áramlás a telephelyválasztás elméletének tükrében [The flow of operating capital in the light of the theory of location choice]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 472-494.
    13. Fung, K.C. & Korhonen, Iikka & Li, Ke & Ng, Francis, 2008. "China and Central and Eastern European countries: regional networks, global supply chain or international competitors?," BOFIT Discussion Papers 9/2008, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    14. Damijan, Jože P. & Rojec, Matija & Majcen, Boris & Knell, Mark, 2013. "Impact of firm heterogeneity on direct and spillover effects of FDI: Micro-evidence from ten transition countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 895-922.
    15. Gordon H. Hanson & Raymond J. Mataloni & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2001. "Expansion Strategies of U.S. Multinational Firms," BEA Papers 0012, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    16. Fung , K.C. & Korhonen, Iikka & Li, Ke & Ng, Francis, 2008. "China and central and eastern European countries : regional networks, global supply chain, or international competitors?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4689, The World Bank.
    17. Sourafel Girma, & Holger Görg, 2003. "Foreign direct investmant, spillovers and absorptive capacity: Evidence from quantile regressions," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp01, IIIS.
    18. repec:zbw:bofitp:2008_009 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Laura Alfaro & Andrés Rodriguez-Clare, 2004. "Multinationals and Linkages: An Empirical Investigation," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 113-169, January.
    20. Jordaan, Jacob A., 2005. "Determinants of FDI-induced externalities: New empirical evidence for Mexican manufacturing industries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 2103-2118, December.
    21. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2001. "General-Equilibrium Approaches to the Multinational Firm: A Review of Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 8334, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    FDI; Spillovers; Productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cda:wpaper:49. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Letters and Science IT Services Unit (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/educdus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.