IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i3p2801-d1057047.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multinational Firms and Economic Integration: The Role of Global Uncertainty

Author

Listed:
  • Jaewon Jung

    (School of Business and Economics, Dankook University, Yongin 16890, Republic of Korea
    THEMA, CY Cergy Paris University, 95011 Cergy, France)

Abstract

This paper develops a three-country, two-sector, two-factor general-equilibrium trade model in which multinational firms’ FDI decisions are influenced by global uncertainty level. We investigate the effects of economic integration under uncertainty, and highlight an important new type of FDI which is certainty-seeking. A numerical general-equilibrium model has been explored to study in depth the endogenous regime changes with six different firm types. Among others, we show that multinational firms are highly influenced by global uncertainty level, so that even the same economic integration process leads to significantly different global market structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaewon Jung, 2023. "Multinational Firms and Economic Integration: The Role of Global Uncertainty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2801-:d:1057047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2801/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2801/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. R. Gaston Gelos & Shang‐Jin Wei, 2005. "Transparency and International Portfolio Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2987-3020, December.
    2. James R. Markusen, 2004. "Multinational Firms and the Theory of International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262633078, December.
    3. Agnès Bénassy‐Quéré & Maylis Coupet & Thierry Mayer, 2007. "Institutional Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 764-782, May.
    4. Libo Yin & Liyan Han, 2014. "Spillovers of macroeconomic uncertainty among major economies," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(13), pages 938-944, September.
    5. Philipp Harms & Jaewon Jung & Oliver Lorz, 2021. "Offshoring and sequential production chains: A general equilibrium analysis," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 623-647, May.
    6. Avinash Dixit, 2011. "International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and Security," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 191-213, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Markusen, James R. & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Foreign direct investment as a catalyst for industrial development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 335-356, February.
    9. Papaioannou, Elias, 2009. "What drives international financial flows? Politics, institutions and other determinants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 269-281, March.
    10. Colombo, Valentina, 2013. "Economic policy uncertainty in the US: Does it matter for the Euro area?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 39-42.
    11. Dixit, Avinash, 1995. "Irreversible investment with uncertainty and scale economies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 327-350.
    12. Utpal Bhattacharya & Neal Galpin & Bruce Haslem, 2007. "The Home Court Advantage in International Corporate Litigation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(4), pages 625-660.
    13. Christian Daude & Ernesto Stein, 2007. "The Quality Of Institutions And Foreign Direct Investment," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 317-344, November.
    14. Dixit, Avinash K, 1989. "Entry and Exit Decisions under Uncertainty," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 620-638, June.
    15. Caves,Richard E., 2007. "Multinational Enterprise and Economic Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521677530.
    16. Klößner, Stefan & Sekkel, Rodrigo, 2014. "International spillovers of policy uncertainty," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 508-512.
    17. Jaewon Jung, 2022. "The Nexus between Institutional Quality and Global Market Structure: Export versus FDI," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(24), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Ahir, Hites & Bloom, Nicholas & Furceri, Davide, 2022. "The world uncertainty index," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117833, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Jaewon Jung, 2021. "Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development through Multilateral Free Trade Agreements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    20. Caroline Jardet & Cristina Jude & Menzie Chinn, 2023. "Foreign direct investment under uncertainty evidence from a large panel of countries," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 854-885, August.
    21. Liu, Zhiqiang, 2008. "Foreign direct investment and technology spillovers: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1-2), pages 176-193, February.
    22. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    23. Caves,Richard E., 2007. "Multinational Enterprise and Economic Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521860130.
    24. Pindyck, Robert S, 1988. "Irreversible Investment, Capacity Choice, and the Value of the Firm," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 969-985, December.
    25. Yu-Fu Chen & Michael Funke, 2011. "Institutional Uncertainty, Economic Integration, and Vertical Foreign Direct Investment Decisions," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 593-612, September.
    26. Rodrik, Dani, 1991. "Policy uncertainty and private investment in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 229-242, October.
    27. Desai, Mihir A. & Fritz Foley, C. & Hines Jr., James R., 2008. "Capital structure with risky foreign investment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 534-553, June.
    28. James R. Markusen & Anthony J. Venables, 2021. "Multinational firms and the new trade theory," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 3, pages 47-67, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    29. Buchanan, Bonnie G. & Le, Quan V. & Rishi, Meenakshi, 2012. "Foreign direct investment and institutional quality: Some empirical evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 81-89.
    30. Elhanan Helpman, 1985. "Multinational Corporations and Trade Structure," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(3), pages 443-457.
    31. Shang-Jin Wei, 2000. "How Taxing is Corruption on International Investors?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 1-11, February.
    32. Helpman, Elhanan, 1984. "A Simple Theory of International Trade with Multinational Corporations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 451-471, June.
    33. Azzimonti, Marina, 2019. "Does partisan conflict deter FDI inflows to the US?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 162-178.
    34. Hermes, Niels & Lensink, Robert, 2001. "Capital flight and the uncertainty of government policies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 377-381, June.
    35. Aghion, Philippe & Angeletos, George-Marios & Banerjee, Abhijit & Manova, Kalina, 2010. "Volatility and growth: Credit constraints and the composition of investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 246-265, April.
    36. Antonakakis, Nikolaos & Gabauer, David & Gupta, Rangan & Plakandaras, Vasilios, 2018. "Dynamic connectedness of uncertainty across developed economies: A time-varying approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 63-75.
    37. Gupta, Rangan & Pierdzioch, Christian & Risse, Marian, 2016. "On international uncertainty links: BART-based empirical evidence for Canada," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 24-27.
    38. Kexin Chen & He Nie & Zhenyu Ge, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and FDI: Evidence from national elections," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 419-428, May.
    39. Julio, Brandon & Yook, Youngsuk, 2016. "Policy uncertainty, irreversibility, and cross-border flows of capital," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 13-26.
    40. Jaewon Jung, 2020. "Institutional Quality, FDI, and Productivity: A Theoretical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    41. Shiva S. Makki & Agapi Somwaru, 2004. "Impact of Foreign Direct Investment and Trade on Economic Growth: Evidence from Developing Countries," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(3), pages 795-801.
    42. KH Zhang, 2001. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Evidence From East Asia And Latin America," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 19(2), pages 175-185, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jaewon Jung, 2022. "The Nexus between Institutional Quality and Global Market Structure: Export versus FDI," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(24), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Jaewon Jung, 2020. "Institutional Quality, FDI, and Productivity: A Theoretical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Julio, Brandon & Yook, Youngsuk, 2016. "Policy uncertainty, irreversibility, and cross-border flows of capital," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 13-26.
    4. Zhen Yu & Yuankun Li & Jing Zhao, 2023. "Epidemic outbreak and foreign direct investment fluctuation," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 1051-1081, April.
    5. Jaewon Jung, 2021. "Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development through Multilateral Free Trade Agreements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    6. Dalila Chenaf-Nicet & Eric Rougier, 2016. "The Effect of Macroeconomic Instability on FDI Flows: A Gravity Estimation of the Impact of Regional Integration in the Case of Euro-Mediterranean Agreements," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 145, pages 66-91.
    7. Maria Borga & Perla Ibarlucea Flores & Monika Sztajerowska, 2020. "Drivers of divestment decisions of multinational enterprises - A cross-country firm-level perspective," OECD Working Papers on International Investment 2019/03, OECD Publishing.
    8. Tag, Mehmet Nasih & Degirmen, Suleyman, 2022. "Economic freedom and foreign direct investment: Are they related?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 737-752.
    9. Thierry Mayer, 2006. "Policy Coherence for Development: A Background Paper on Foreign Direct Investment," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 253, OECD Publishing.
    10. Andrzej Cieślik, 2020. "What attracts multinational enterprises from the new EU member states to Poland?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(2), pages 253-269, June.
    11. Resmini, Laura & Siedschlag, Iulia, 2013. "Is foreign direct investment to China crowding out the foreign direct investment to other countries?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 1-16.
    12. Rachel Griffith & Stephen Redding & Helen Simpson, 2004. "Foreign Ownership and Productivity: New Evidence from the Service Sector and the R&D Lab," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 440-456, Autumn.
    13. Mariam Camarero & Laura Montolio & Cecilio Tamarit, 2020. "Determinants of FDI for Spanish regions: evidence using stock data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 2779-2820, December.
    14. Christina Christou & Giray Gozgor & Rangan Gupta & Chi keung Marco Lau, 2020. "Are Uncertainties across the World Convergent?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(1), pages 855-862.
    15. Buchanan, Bonnie G. & Le, Quan V. & Rishi, Meenakshi, 2012. "Foreign direct investment and institutional quality: Some empirical evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 81-89.
    16. Antrà s, Pol & Yeaple, Stephen R., 2014. "Multinational Firms and the Structure of International Trade," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 55-130, Elsevier.
    17. Mariam Camarero & Laura Montolio & Cecilio Tamarit, 2019. "Determinants of German outward FDI: variable selection using Bayesian statistical," Working Papers 1906, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    18. Camarero, Mariam & Montolio, Laura & Tamarit, Cecilio, 2019. "What drives German foreign direct investment? New evidence using Bayesian statistical techniques," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 326-345.
    19. Sangyup Choi & Davide Furceri & Chansik Yoon, 2019. "Policy Uncertainty and FDI Flows: The Role of Institutional Quality and Financial Development," Working papers 2019rwp-144, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.
    20. Brandon Julio & Youngsuk Yook, 2013. "Policy uncertainty, irreversibility, and cross-border flows of capital," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2013-64, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2801-:d:1057047. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.