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Deep trade agreements and vertical FDI: The devil is in the details

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  • Alberto Osnago
  • Nadia Rocha
  • Michele Ruta

Abstract

Although pre-1990s preferential trade agreements focused mostly on tariff liberalization, recent agreements increasingly contain deep provisions in diverse areas, such as intellectual property rights, investment and standards. At the same time, there has been a remarkable increase in the internationalization of production through foreign direct investment and outsourcing. This paper studies how deep trade agreements affect the international organization of production. Using new measures of the depth and content of preferential trade agreements and of vertical foreign direct investment, the analysis finds evidence that the depth of trade agreements is correlated with vertical foreign direct investment. Furthermore, this relationship is driven by the provisions that improve the contractibility of inputs provided by suppliers, such as standards, while provisions that increase the contractibility of headquarter services, such as intellectual property rights and investment protection, are generally negatively correlated with foreign investment. This finding is consistent with the so-called property rights theory of the multinational firm according to which improving the contractibility of an input reduces the importance of giving incentives through ownership.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Osnago & Nadia Rocha & Michele Ruta, 2019. "Deep trade agreements and vertical FDI: The devil is in the details," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1558-1599, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:52:y:2019:i:4:p:1558-1599
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12413
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    Cited by:

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    2. Doan Ngoc Thang, 2024. "How do regional extreme events shape supply-chain trade?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 117-149, February.
    3. Jong Hee Park & Byung Koo Kim, 2020. "Why your neighbor matters: Positions in preferential trade agreement networks and export growth in global value chains," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 381-410, November.
    4. Essotanam Mamba & Afi Balaki, 2023. "Deep regional trade agreement as a driver for global value chains in Africa: the case of ECOWAS region," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 2037-2068, June.
    5. Elena Drobot & Ivan Makarov & Yelena Petrenko & Gaukhar Koshebayeva, 2022. "Relationship between Countries’ Energy Indicators and the Indices of GVC Participation: The Case of APEC Member Economies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Leonardo Baccini & Arianna Bondi & Matteo Fiorini, 2023. "Global Value Chains and the Design of Trade Agreements," RSCAS Working Papers 2013_56, European University Institute.
    7. Swati Dhingra & Rebecca Freeman & Eleonora Mavroeidi, 2018. "Beyond tariff reductions: what extra boost from trade agreement provisions?," CEP Discussion Papers dp1532, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    8. Edith Laget & Alberto Osnago & Nadia Rocha & Michele Ruta, 2020. "Deep Trade Agreements and Global Value Chains," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 57(2), pages 379-410, September.
    9. Yamlaksira S. Getachew & Roger Fon & Elie Chrysostome, 2023. "On the location choices of African multinational enterprises: Do supranational economic institutions matter?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(4), pages 453-490, December.
    10. Di Ubaldo, Mattia & Gasiorek, Michael, 2022. "Non-trade provisions in trade agreements and FDI," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Alen Mulabdic & Alberto Osnago & Michele Ruta, 2017. "Deep integration and UK-EU trade relations," Discussion Papers 2017-03, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    12. Mao, Haiou & Görg, Holger & Fang, Guopei, 2023. "Time to say goodbye? The impact of environmental regulation on foreign divestment," Kiel Working Papers 2255, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    13. Laget,Edith & Roch,Nadia & Varela,Gonzalo J., 2021. "Deep Trade Agreement and Foreign Direct Investments," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9829, The World Bank.
    14. Henn, Christian & Gnutzmann-Mkrtchyan, Arevik, 2015. "The layers of the IT Agreement's trade impact," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2015-01, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    15. Sébastien Miroudot & Davide Rigo, 2019. "Preferential Trade Agreements and Multinational Production," RSCAS Working Papers 2019/14, European University Institute.
    16. Sébastien Miroudot & Davide Rigo, 2022. "Multinational production and investment provisions in preferential trade agreements [Intra-industry foreign direct investment]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(6), pages 1275-1308.
    17. Anirudh Shingal & Maximiliano Mendez-Parra, 2020. "African greenfield investment and the likely effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Working Paper 387, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India.
    18. Mao, Haiou & Görg, Holger & Fang, Guopei, 2023. "Time to Say Goodbye? The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Foreign Divestment," IZA Discussion Papers 16406, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Youngmin BAEK & HAYAKAWA Kazunobu, 2022. "Fixed Costs in Exporting and Investing," Discussion papers 22023, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    20. Mao, Haiou & Görg, Holger & Fang, Guopei, 2023. "Time to say goodbye? The impact of environmental regulation on foreign divestment," KCG Working Papers 27, Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG).
    21. Jonas Gamso & Robert Grosse, 2021. "Trade agreement depth, foreign direct investment, and the moderating role of property rights," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(2), pages 308-325, June.
    22. Eduardo Rodrigues Sanguinet & Augusto Mussi Alvim & Miguel Atienza, 2022. "Trade agreements and participation in global value chains: Empirical evidence from Latin America," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 702-738, March.
    23. Jacopo Timini & Nicola Cortinovis & Fernando López Vicente, 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of trade agreements with labour provisions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(9), pages 2820-2853, September.
    24. Di Ubaldo, Mattia & Gasiorek, Michael, 2022. "Non-trade provisions in trade agreements and FDI," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    25. Nuno Limão, 2016. "Preferential Trade Agreements," NBER Working Papers 22138, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

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