IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fip/fedlwp/2010-043.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Multinational Firms' Entry and Productivity: Some Aggregate Implications of Firm-level Heterogeneity

Author

Listed:
  • Silvio Contessi

Abstract

Despite the microeconomic evidence supporting the superior idiosyncratic productivity of multinational firms (MFN) and their affiliates, cross-country studies fail to find robust evidence of a positive relationship between Foreign Direct Investment and growth. In order to study the aggregate implications of MNF entry and production, I develop a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model with firm heterogeneity where MNF sort according to their own productivity. Entry and production of MNF contribute to aggregate productivity growth at decreasing rates over time but potentially crowd out domestic producers due to increased product and factor market competition. I compare the aggregate benefit of productivity contributions with the cost of crowding out and argue that composition and crowding-out effects can help explain the conflicting evidence on the impact of Foreign Direct Investment on growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvio Contessi, 2010. "Multinational Firms' Entry and Productivity: Some Aggregate Implications of Firm-level Heterogeneity," Working Papers 2010-043, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2010-043
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/2010/2010-043.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chiara Criscuolo & Ralf Martin, 2009. "Multinationals and U.S. Productivity Leadership: Evidence from Great Britain," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 263-281, May.
    2. Zlate, Andrei, 2016. "Offshore production and business cycle dynamics with heterogeneous firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 34-49.
    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. Fabio Ghironi & Marc J. Melitz, 2005. "International Trade and Macroeconomic Dynamics with Heterogeneous Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(3), pages 865-915.
    5. Borensztein, E. & De Gregorio, J. & Lee, J-W., 1998. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?1," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 115-135, June.
    6. Katheryn N. Russ, 2009. "The New Theory of Foreign Direct Investment: Merging Trade and Capital Flows," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 107-119, May.
    7. Ellen McGrattan, 2012. "Transition to FDI Openness: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(4), pages 437-458, October.
    8. Elhanan Helpman & Marc J. Melitz & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2004. "Export Versus FDI with Heterogeneous Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 300-316, March.
    9. Naknoi, Kanda, 2015. "Exchange rate volatility and fluctuations in the extensive margin of trade," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 322-339.
    10. M. Ayhan Kose & Eswar Prasad & Kenneth Rogoff & Shang-Jin Wei, 2009. "Financial Globalization: A Reappraisal," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 56(2), pages 143-197.
    11. Beata Javorcik & Wolfgang Keller & James Tybout, 2008. "Openness and Industrial Response in a Wal‐Mart World: A Case Study of Mexican Soaps, Detergents and Surfactant Producers," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(12), pages 1558-1580, December.
    12. Carol Corrado & Paul Lengermann & Larry Slifman, 2009. "The Contribution of Multinational Corporations to US Productivity Growth, 1977–2000," NBER Chapters, in: International Trade in Services and Intangibles in the Era of Globalization, pages 331-360, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Chor, Davin, 2009. "Subsidies for FDI: Implications from a model with heterogeneous firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 113-125, June.
    14. J. Bradford Jensen & Lori G. Kletzer, 2005. "Tradable Services: Understanding the Scope and Impact of Services Outsourcing," Working Paper Series WP05-9, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    15. Christian Broda & David E. Weinstein, 2006. "Globalization and the Gains From Variety," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 541-585.
    16. Matthias Arnold, Jens & Javorcik, Beata S., 2009. "Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign direct investment and plant productivity in Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 42-53, September.
    17. M Ayhan Kose & Eswar Prasad & Kenneth Rogoff & Shang-Jin Wei, 2009. "Financial Globalization: A Reappraisal," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 56(1), pages 8-62, April.
    18. Ramondo, Natalia & Rappoport, Veronica, 2010. "The role of multinational production in a risky environment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 240-252, July.
    19. Matthew T. Cole (University College Dublin) Ronald B. Davies (University College Dublin), 2009. "Optimal Tariffs, Tariff Jumping, and Heterogeneous Firms," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp302, IIIS.
    20. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2012. "Americans Do IT Better: US Multinationals and the Productivity Miracle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 167-201, February.
    21. Ellen McGrattan, 2012. "Transition to FDI Openness: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(4), pages 437-458, October.
    22. Jonathan Eaton & Samuel Kortum & Brent Neiman & John Romalis, 2016. "Trade and the Global Recession," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(11), pages 3401-3438, November.
    23. Russ, Katheryn Niles, 2007. "The endogeneity of the exchange rate as a determinant of FDI: A model of entry and multinational firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 344-372, April.
    24. Lane, Philip R. & Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria, 2007. "The external wealth of nations mark II: Revised and extended estimates of foreign assets and liabilities, 1970-2004," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 223-250, November.
    25. Joel Rodrigue, 2014. "Multinational Production, Exports and Aggregate Productivity," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(2), pages 243-261, April.
    26. Silvio Contessi, 2010. "How does multinational production change international comovement?," Working Papers 2010-041, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    27. Amil Petrin & James Levinsohn, 2012. "Measuring aggregate productivity growth using plant-level data," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 43(4), pages 705-725, December.
    28. Greenwood, Jeremy & Hercowitz, Zvi & Huffman, Gregory W, 1988. "Investment, Capacity Utilization, and the Real Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 402-417, June.
    29. Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz & Luis A. Rivera-Batiz, 2018. "The Effects of Direct Foreign Investment in the Presence of Increasing Returns due to Specialization," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Francisco L Rivera-Batiz & Luis A Rivera-Batiz (ed.), International Trade, Capital Flows and Economic Development, chapter 14, pages 371-396, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    30. Amil Petrin & Jerome Reiter & Kirk White, 2011. "The Impact of Plant-level Resource Reallocations and Technical Progress on U.S. Macroeconomic Growth," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(1), pages 3-26, January.
    31. Chiara Criscuolo, 2006. "Foreign Affiliates in OECD Economies: Presence, Performance and Contribution to Host Countries' Growth," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2005(2), pages 109-139.
    32. Pengfei Wang & Yi Wen & Zhiwei Xu, 2012. "Two-way capital flows and global imbalances: a neoclassical approach," Working Papers 2012-016, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    33. Marshall Reinsdorf & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2009. "International Trade in Services and Intangibles in the Era of Globalization," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number rein09-1.
    34. Harrison, Ann E. & Rodriguez-Clare, Andres, 2009. "Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy," MPRA Paper 15561, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    35. Maria Borga & William J. Zeile, 2004. "International Fragmentation of Production and the Intrafirm Trade of U.s. Multinational Companies," BEA Papers 0035, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    36. Amil Petrin & James Levinsohn, 2005. "Measuring Aggregate Productivity Growth Using Plant-Level Data," Working Papers 552, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    37. Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), 2010. "Handbook of Development Economics," Handbook of Development Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 5, number 6.
    38. Alfaro, Laura & Chanda, Areendam & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sayek, Selin, 2010. "Does foreign direct investment promote growth? Exploring the role of financial markets on linkages," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 242-256, March.
    39. Silvio Contessi & Ariel Weinberger, 2009. "Foreign direct investment, productivity, and country growth: an overview," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 91(Mar), pages 61-78.
    40. Ellen R. McGrattan, 2009. "Transition to FDI openness," Working Papers 671, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    41. Deborah L. Swenson, 2004. "Foreign Investment and the Mediation of Trade Flows," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(4), pages 609-629, September.
    42. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    43. Ellen R. McGrattan, 2012. "Technical appendix: Transition to FDI openness - reconciling theory and evidence," Staff Report 455, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    44. Head, Keith & Jing, Ran & Swenson, Deborah L., 2014. "From Beijing to Bentonville: Do multinational retailers link markets?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 79-92.
    45. Hopenhayn, Hugo A, 1992. "Entry, Exit, and Firm Dynamics in Long Run Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(5), pages 1127-1150, September.
    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. Konov, Joshua Ioji / JK, 2013. "Enhancing Markets (i.e. Economies) Transmissionability to Optimize Monetary Policies’ Effect," MPRA Paper 46950, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Boehm, Christoph E. & Flaaen, Aaron & Pandalai-Nayar, Nitya, 2020. "Multinationals, Offshoring, and the Decline of U.S. Manufacturing," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    3. Fabio Ghironi, 2018. "Macro needs micro," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 34(1-2), pages 195-218.
    4. Konov, Joshua Ioji, 2012. "Market Economy under Rapid Globalization and Rising Productivity," MPRA Paper 48750, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Zlate, Andrei, 2016. "Offshore production and business cycle dynamics with heterogeneous firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 34-49.

    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. Ziran Ding, 2022. "Firm heterogeneity, variable markups, and multinational production: A review from trade policy perspective," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1311-1357, December.
    2. Carluccio, Juan & Fally, Thibault, 2013. "Foreign entry and spillovers with technological incompatibilities in the supply chain," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 123-135.
    3. Philipp Harms & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2013. "The Growth Effects of Greenfield Investment and Mergers and Acquisitions: Econometric Investigation and Implication for MENA Countries," Working Papers 794, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2013.
    4. Philipp Harms & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2014. "Good and bad FDI: The growth effects of greenfield investment and mergers and acquisitions in developing countries," Working Papers CEB 14-021, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Adam Hal Spencer, 2022. "Policy Effects of International Taxation on Firm Dynamics and Capital Structure," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(4), pages 2149-2200.
    6. Ellen McGrattan, 2012. "Transition to FDI Openness: Reconciling Theory and Evidence," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(4), pages 437-458, October.
    7. Han, Wontae & Wang, Jian & Wang, Xiao, 2022. "FDI and firm productivity in host countries: The role of financial constraints," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Philipp Harms & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2011. "An FDI is an FDI is an FDI? The growth effects of greenfield investment and mergers and acquisitions in developing countries," Working Papers 11.10, Swiss National Bank, Study Center Gerzensee.
    9. Christian Fons-Rosen & Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan & Bent E. Sørensen & Carolina Villegas-Sanchez & Vadym Volosovych, 2012. "Where are the Productivity Gains from Foreign Investment? Evidence on Spillovers and Reallocation from Firms, Industries and Countries," DEGIT Conference Papers c017_064, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    10. Laura Alfaro & Maggie X. Chen, 2018. "Selection and Market Reallocation: Productivity Gains from Multinational Production," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-38, May.
    11. Javier Cravino & Andrei A. Levchenko, 2017. "Multinational Firms and International Business Cycle Transmission," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 921-962.
    12. Laura Alfaro & Maggie X. Chen, 2013. "Market Reallocation and Knowledge Spillover: The Gains from Multinational Production," Working Papers 2013-13, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    13. Rachel Griffith & Stephen Redding & Helen Simpson, 2009. "Technological Catch‐Up And Geographic Proximity," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 689-720, October.
    14. Ehsan Choudhri & Antonio Marasco, 2013. "Heterogeneous Productivity and the Gains from Trade and FDI," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 339-360, April.
    15. Silvio Contessi, 2010. "How does multinational production change international comovement?," Working Papers 2010-041, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    16. Kox, Henk L.M., 2022. "Linking the knowledge-capital model of foreign direct investment with national knowledge systems," EconStor Preprints 266495, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    17. Görg Holger & Marchal Léa, 2019. "Die Effekte deutscher Direktinvestitionen im Empfängerland vor dem Hintergrund des Leistungsbilanzüberschusses: Empirische Evidenz mit Mikrodaten für Frankreich," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 20(1), pages 53-69, June.
    18. Andrew B. Bernard & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2009. "Products and Productivity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(4), pages 681-709, December.
    19. Bauer, Christian & Davies, Ronald B. & Haufler, Andreas, 2014. "Economic integration and the optimal corporate tax structure with heterogeneous firms," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 42-56.
    20. Carluccio, J. & Fally, T., 2012. "Foreign Entry and Spillovers with Technological Incompatibilities in the Supply Chain - Forthcoming in Journal of International Economics," Working papers 410, Banque de France.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    International; business; enterprises;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics
    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:fip:fedlwp:2010-043. 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: Anna Oates (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/frbslus.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.