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An Empirical Assessment of the Factor Proportions Explanation of Multi-National Sales

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Author Info
S. Lael Brainard
Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence that challenges the factor proportions explanation of multinational activity. The same tests on intra-industry ratios and total volumes that were used to demonstrate that a substantial part of trade is explained by factor proportions and income similarities rather than differences are applied to affiliate sales with surprisingly similar results. Some support for the factor proportions hypothesis is derived by comparing affiliate production destined for export to the parent's market, which is the category of activity most likely to be motivated by factor proportions considerations, with that destined for sale in the local market. Affiliate production destined for export home is moderately more responsive to factor proportions differences. However, the two types of activity differ more in their responses to transport costs and destination market income. Overall, the evidence suggests that only a small part of multinational activity into and out of the U.S. in the late 1980s can be explained by factor proportions differences.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 4583.

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Date of creation: Dec 1993
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4583

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies

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References listed on IDEAS
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(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. Werner Antweiler & Daniel Trefler, 2002. "Increasing Returns and All That: A View from Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 93-119, March. [Downloadable!]
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  2. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 1999. "Discriminating Among Alternative Theories of the Multinational Enterprise," NBER Working Papers 7164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2001. "A Unified Approach to Intra-Industry Trade and Direct Foreign Investment," NBER Working Papers 8335, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jonathan Eaton & Akiko Tamura, 1995. "Bilateralism and Regionalism in Japanese and U.S. Trade and Direct Foreign Investment Patterns," NBER Working Papers 4758, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. M.T. Alguacil & V. Orts, . "A multivariate cointegrated model testing for temporal causality between exports and outward FDI: The Spanish case," Studies on the Spanish Economy 50, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
  6. Felipa Mello Sampayo, 2006. "The Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities of the USA Multinational Enterprises," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_040, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade. [Downloadable!]
  7. Braconier, Henrik & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Urban, Dieter, 2002. "Vertical FDI Revisited," Working Paper Series 579, Research Institute of Industrial Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Pavelin, Stephen, 2001. "Firm Interdependence In Foreign Production: Leading UK Firms in 1986 and 1993," CEPR Discussion Papers 2921, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Amiti, Mary & Wakelin, Katharine, 2002. "Investment Liberalization and International Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 3492, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. David L. Carr & James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 1998. "Estimating the Knowledge-Capital Model of the Multinational Enterprise," NBER Working Papers 6773, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Koen De Backer & Leo Sleuwaegen, 2002. "Does foreign direct investment crowd out domestic entrepreneurship?," Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School Working Paper Series 2002-14, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Giovanni Pica & José V. Rodríguez Mora, 2007. "Who’s Afraid of a Globalized World? Foreign Direct Investments, Local Knowledge and Allocation of Talents," CSEF Working Papers 184, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 05 Oct 2009. [Downloadable!]
  13. Mathä, Thomas, 2000. "Proximity-Concentration versus Factor Proportion Explanation: The Case of Swedish Multinationals in the EU," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 416, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 08 Dec 2000. [Downloadable!]
  14. J Peter Neary, 2005. "Trade Costs and Foreign Direct Investment," Working Papers 200512, School Of Economics, University College Dublin. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  15. Sebastian Krautheim, 2007. "Export-Supporting FDI," Economics Working Papers ECO2007/24, European University Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. James R. Markusen & Anthony J. Venables, 1996. "Multinational Production, Skilled Labor and Real Wages," NBER Working Papers 5483, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. James R. Markusen & Anthony J. Venables & Denise Eby Konan & Kevin H. Zhang, 1996. "A Unified Treatment of Horizontal Direct Investment, Vertical Direct Investment, and the Pattern of Trade in Goods and Services," NBER Working Papers 5696, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Joze P. Damijan & Marko Glaznar & Janez Prasnikar & Saso Polanec, 2004. "Export vs. FDI Behavior of Heterogenous Firms in Heterogenous Markets: Evidence from Sovenia," LICOS Discussion Papers 14704, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, K.U.Leuven. [Downloadable!]
  19. Gunnar A. Eskeland & Ann E. Harrison, 2002. "Moving to Greener Pastures? Multinationals and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis," NBER Working Papers 8888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  20. S. Lael Brainard, 1993. "An Empirical Assessment of the Proximity-Concentration Tradeoff between Multinational Sales and Trade," NBER Working Papers 4580, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Debaere, Peter & Lee, Hongshik & Lee, Joonhyung, 2006. "Does Where You Go Matter? The Impact of Outward Foreign Direct Investment on Multinationals' Employment at Home," CEPR Discussion Papers 5737, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Koen de Backer, 2002. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Crowd Out Domestic Entrepreneurship?," Economics Working Papers 618, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
  23. G. Schwartz, 2000. "Non-Enforceability of Trade Treaties and the Most-Favored Nation Clause: A Game Theoretic Analysis of Investment Distortions," Princeton Economic Theory Papers 00s17, Economics Department, Princeton University.
  24. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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