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An Assignment Theory of Foreign Direct Investment

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Author Info
Volker Nocke
Stephen Yeaple

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Abstract

We develop an assignment theory to analyze the volume and composition of foreign direct investment (FDI). Firms conduct FDI by either engaging in greenfield investment or in cross-border acquisitions. Cross-border acquisitions involve firms trading heterogeneous corporate assets to exploit complementarities, while greenfield FDI involves building a new plant in the foreign market. In equilibrium, greenfield FDI and cross-border acquisitions co-exist, but the composition of FDI between these modes varies with firm and country characteristics. Firms engaging in greenfield investment are systematically more efficient than those engaging in cross-border acquisitions. Furthermore, most FDI takes the form of cross-border acquisitions when factor price differences between countries are small, while greenfield investment plays a more important role for FDI from high-wage into low-wage countries. These results capture important features of the data.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11003.

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Date of creation: Dec 2004
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11003

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies
F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Country and Industry Studies of Trade
F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Jonathan Eaton & Samuel Kortum & Francis Kramarz, 2004. "Dissecting trade: firms, industries, and export destinations," Staff Report 332, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Andrew B Bernard & Jonathan Eaton & J. Bradford Jensen & Samuel Kortum, 2000. "Plants and productivity in international trade," Working Papers 00-08, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Gordon H. Hanson & Raymond J. Mataloni & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2005. "Vertical Production Networks in Multinational Firms," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(4), pages 664-678, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Volker Nocke & Stephen Yeaple, 2004. "Mergers and the Composition of International Commerce," NBER Working Papers 10405, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. repec:rus:hseeco:121607 is not listed on IDEAS
  6. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Pol Antràs, 2003. "Firms, Contracts, and Trade Structure," NBER Working Papers 9740, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. repec:rus:hseeco:122439 is not listed on IDEAS
  9. Grossman, Gene M. & Helpman, Elhanan, 2004. "Managerial incentives and the international organization of production," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 237-262, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. J Peter Neary, 2004. "Cross-Border Mergers as Instruments of Comparative Advantage," Working Papers 200404, School Of Economics, University College Dublin. [Downloadable!]
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  11. repec:rus:hseeco:121605 is not listed on IDEAS
  12. Antràs, Pol & Helpman, Elhanan, 2004. "Global Sourcing," CEPR Discussion Papers 4170, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Gene M. Grossman & Giovanni Maggi, 2000. "Diversity and Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1255-1275, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Blonigen, Bruce A, 1997. "Firm-Specific Assets and the Link between Exchange Rates and Foreign Direct Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 447-65, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. 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. [Downloadable!]
  16. Helpman, Elhanan, 1984. "A Simple Theory of International Trade with Multinational Corporations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 451-71, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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. Hakkala, Katariina & Heyman, Fredrik & Sjöholm, Fredrik, 2007. "Cross-Border Acquisitions, Multinationals and Wage Elasticities," Working Paper Series 709, Research Institute of Industrial Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Maurico Obstfeld, 2004. "External adjustment," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 140(4), pages 541-568, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Görg, Holger & Hijzen, Alexander & Manchin, Miriam, 2007. "Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions and the Role of Trade Costs," CEPR Discussion Papers 6397, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Lehner, Maria, 2008. "Entry Mode Choice of Multinational Banks," Discussion Papers in Economics 8222, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Robert C. Feenstra & Yongmin Chen, 2005. "Buyer Investment, Product Variety, and Intrafirm Trade," NBER Working Papers 11752, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Ashima Goyal, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Signalling Device for Foreign Direct Investment," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 145-163, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Bertrand, Olivier & Hakkala, Katariina & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan, 2007. "Cross-Border Acquisition or Greenfield Entry: Does it Matter for Affiliate R&D?," Working Paper Series 693, Research Institute of Industrial Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. Pol Antràs & Luis Garicano & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2005. "Offshoring in a Knowledge Economy," NBER Working Papers 11094, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Seiichi Katayama & Sajal Lahiri & Eiichi Tomiura, 2005. "Cost Heterogeneity and the Destination of Foreign Direct Investment," Discussion Paper Series 166, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University. [Downloadable!]
  10. Hartmut Egger & Peter Egger, 2008. "The Trade and Welfare Effects of Mergers in Space," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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