Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is the dominant form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but has received only scarce attention in the theory literature on trade and investment. This paper highlights how the international pattern of ownership of productive assets may depend on features of trade and production costs. It suggests how high trade costs may be conducive to national ownership of assets, while international firms may arise at lower trade costs, contrary to what the 'tariff jumping' argument would suggest. It also shows how private and social incentives for M&A may differ for weak merger synergies, but converge when synergies are stronger.
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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number
2302.
Find related papers by JEL classification: F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
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