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Ownership and Control in Outsourcing to China: Estimating the Property-Rights Theory of the Firm

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Author Info
Robert C. Feenstra
Gordon H. Hanson

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Abstract

We develop a simple model of international outsourcing and apply it to processing trade in China. Export processing involves a foreign firm contracting with a Chinese factory manager to assemble intermediate inputs into a final product. Whether the same or different parties should have ownership of the processing factory and control over input purchases depends on parameters of the model, which we estimate. We find that multinational firms engaged in export processing in China tend to split factory ownership and input control with local managers: the most common outcome is to have foreign factory ownership but Chinese control over input purchases. Consistent with our model, this pattern is especially prevalent in the southern coastal provinces, where export markets are thickest and contracting costs are lowest. © 2005 MIT Press

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Publisher Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 120 (2005)
Issue (Month): 2 (May)
Pages: 729-761
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Handle: RePEc:tpr:qjecon:v:120:y:2005:i:2:p:729-761

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Witada Anukoonwattaka, 2007. "Outsourcing and International Production of a Multinational: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Evidence from Toyota, Thailand," DEGIT Conference Papers c012_045, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade. [Downloadable!]
  2. Eiichi Tomiura, 2004. "Foreign outsourcing and firm-level characteristics: evidence from Japanese manufacturers," Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series d04-64, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Nishaal Gooroochurn & Aoife Hanley, 2006. "A Tale of Two Literatures: Transaction Cost and Property Rights in Innovation Outsourcing," Occasional Papers 17, Industrial Economics Division. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Bruce Blonigen & Alyson Ma, 2007. "Please Pass the Catch-up The Relative Performance of Chinese and Foreign Firms in Chinese Exports," NBER Working Papers 13376, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Gilad Aharonovitz, 2006. "Migration of Firms, Home Bias and the Geographical Distribution of Growth," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_038, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade. [Downloadable!]
  6. Marcella Nicolini, 2007. "Institutions and Offshoring Decision," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
  7. Deborah L. Swenson, 2007. "Multinationals and the Creation of Chinese Trade Linkages," NBER Working Papers 13271, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Naghavi, Alireza & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I P, 2006. "Outsourcing, Contracts and Innovation Networks," CEPR Discussion Papers 5681, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Bruce A. Blonigen, 2005. "A Review of the Empirical Literature on FDI Determinants," NBER Working Papers 11299, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Devashish Mitra & Priya Ranjan, 2007. "Temporary Shocks and Offshoring: The Role of External Economies and Firm Heterogeneity," IZA Discussion Papers 2811, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  11. Mihir A. Desai & C. Fritz Foley & James R. Hines Jr., 2005. "Foreign Direct Investment and Domestic Economic Activity," NBER Working Papers 11717, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Valeria Gattai & Corrado Molteni, 2007. "Dissipation of Knowledge and the Boundaries of the Multinational Enterprise," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 1-26, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Alla Lileeva & Johannes Van Biesebroeck, 2007. "Outsourcing when Investments are Specific and Complementary," Working Papers tecipa-287, University of Toronto, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  14. Devashish Mitra & Priya Ranjan, 2007. "Offshoring and Unemployment," IZA Discussion Papers 2805, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  15. Emek Basker & Pham Hoang Van, 2005. "Putting a Smiley Face on the Dragon: Wal-Mart as Catalyst to U.S.-China Trade," Working Papers 0506, Department of Economics, University of Missouri, revised 07 Oct 2005. [Downloadable!]
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  17. Pol Antràs & Mihir A. Desai & C. Fritz Foley, 2007. "Multinational Firms, FDI Flows and Imperfect Capital Markets," NBER Working Papers 12855, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Okamoto, Yusuke, 2006. "Integration versus Outsourcing in Stable Industry Equilibrium with Communication Networks," IDE Discussion Papers 54, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO). [Downloadable!]
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