IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/3300.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The labor market effects of foreign-owned firms

Author

Listed:
  • Rita Almeida

Abstract

Foreign firms often have a more educated workforce and pay higher wages than domestic firms. This does not necessarily imply that foreign ownership translates into higher demand for educated workers or higher wages, since foreign investment may be guided by unobservable firm characteristics correlated with the demand for educated workers or wages. The author examines foreign acquisitions of domestic firms in Portugal in the 1990s and finds small changes in the workforce skill composition and wages following acquisition. Foreign investors"cherry pick"domestic firms that are already very similar to the group of existing foreign firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Rita Almeida, 2004. "The labor market effects of foreign-owned firms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3300, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3300
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/06/15/000009486_20040615113959/Rendered/PDF/wps3300Labor.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan E. Haskel & Sonia C. Pereira & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2007. "Does Inward Foreign Direct Investment Boost the Productivity of Domestic Firms?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(3), pages 482-496, August.
    2. Jacobson, Louis S & LaLonde, Robert J & Sullivan, Daniel G, 1993. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 685-709, September.
    3. Sofronis K. Clerides & Saul Lach & James R. Tybout, 1998. "Is Learning by Exporting Important? Micro-Dynamic Evidence from Colombia, Mexico, and Morocco," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(3), pages 903-947.
    4. Zadia M. Feliciano & Robert E. Lipsey, 1999. "Foreign Ownership and Wages in the United States, 1987 - 1992," NBER Working Papers 6923, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Lichtenberg, Frank R. & Siegel, Donald, 1990. "The effects of leveraged buyouts on productivity and related aspects of firm behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 165-194, September.
    7. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Arnold, Jens Matthias & Javorcik, Beata Smarzynska, 2005. "Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign acquisitions and plant performance in Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3597, The World Bank.
    9. Tybout, James R. & Westbrook, M. Daniel, 1995. "Trade liberalization and the dimensions of efficiency change in Mexican manufacturing industries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1-2), pages 53-78, August.
    10. Sjoholm, Fredrik & Lipsey, Robert E, 2006. "Foreign Firms and Indonesian Manufacturing Wages: An Analysis with Panel Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(1), pages 201-221, October.
    11. James R. Markusen, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, Spring.
    12. Charles Brown & James L. Medoff, 1988. "The Impact of Firm Acquisitions on Labor," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Takeovers: Causes and Consequences, pages 9-32, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Brian Aitken & Ann Harrison & Robert E. Lipsey, 2022. "Wages and foreign ownership A comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 4, pages 61-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. James R. Tybout, 2000. "Manufacturing Firms in Developing Countries: How Well Do They Do, and Why?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 11-44, March.
    15. McGuckin, Robert H. & Nguyen, Sang V., 2001. "The impact of ownership changes: a view from labor markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 739-762, April.
    16. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, May.
    17. JosÈ Mata & Pedro Portugal, 2004. "Patterns of Entry, Post-Entry Growth and Survival: A Comparison Between Domestic and Foreign Owned Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 22(3_4), pages 283-298, April.
    18. Girma, Sourafel & Görg, Holger, 2003. "Evaluating the Causal Effects of Foreign Acquisition on Domestic Skilled and Unskilled Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 903, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Michael Pfaffermayr, 1999. "Ownership Advantages, Foreign Production and Productivity: Evidence from Austrian Manufacturing Firms," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 15(4), pages 379-396, December.
    20. Bernard, Andrew B. & Bradford Jensen, J., 1999. "Exceptional exporter performance: cause, effect, or both?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-25, February.
    21. Robert H. McGuckin & Sang V. Nguyen, 1995. "On Productivity and Plant Ownership Change: New Evidence from the Longitudinal Research Database," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(2), pages 257-276, Summer.
    22. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 1999. "The Art of Labormetrics," NBER Working Papers 6927, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Matsusaka, John G, 1993. "Target Profits and Managerial Discipline during the Conglomerate Merger Wave," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 179-189, June.
    24. Pedro Portugal & Olympia Bover, 1998. "A Comparative Study of The Portuguese and Spanish Labour Markets," Working Papers w199801, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    25. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald & Peter Sanfey, 1996. "Wages, Profits, and Rent-Sharing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(1), pages 227-251.
    26. Girma, Sourafel & Görg, Holger, 2001. "Blessing or Curse? Domestic Plants' Survival and Employment Prospects After Foreign Acquisition," CEPR Discussion Papers 2994, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    27. Jean-François Hennart & Young-Ryeol Park, 1993. "Greenfield vs. Acquisition: The Strategy of Japanese Investors in the United States," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(9), pages 1054-1070, September.
    28. Lipsey, Robert E. & Sjoholm, Fredrik, 2004. "Foreign direct investment, education and wages in Indonesian manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 415-422, February.
    29. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Peter K. Schott, 2009. "Importers, Exporters and Multinationals: A Portrait of Firms in the U.S. that Trade Goods," NBER Chapters, in: Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data, pages 513-552, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    30. Meyer, Bruce D, 1995. "Natural and Quasi-experiments in Economics," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(2), pages 151-161, April.
    31. Almeida, Rita, 2007. "The labor market effects of foreign owned firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 75-96, May.
    32. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    33. Pedro Portugal & Olivier Blanchard, 2001. "What Hides Behind an Unemployment Rate: Comparing Portuguese and U.S. Labor Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 187-207, March.
    34. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 2010. "Analysing Foreign Market Entry Strategies: Extending the Internalisation Approach," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Multinational Enterprise Revisited, chapter 8, pages 177-204, Palgrave Macmillan.
    35. Edwin Mansfield & Anthony Romeo, 1980. "Technology Transfer to Overseas Subsidiaries by U. S.-Based Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 95(4), pages 737-750.
    36. Martin J. Conyon & Sourafel Girma & Steve Thompson & Peter W. Wright, 2002. "The productivity and wage effects of foreign acquisition in the United Kingdom," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 85-102, March.
    37. Dimelis, S. & Louri-Dendrinou, Eleni, 2001. "Foreign Direct Investment and Efficiency Benefits: A Conditional Quantile Analysis," CEPR Discussion Papers 2868, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    38. Frank R. Lichtenberg & Donald Siegel, 1987. "Productivity and Changes in Ownership of Manufactoring Plants," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 18(3, Specia), pages 643-684.
    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. Almeida, Rita K., 2003. "The Effects of Foreign Owned Firms on the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 785, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Christian Bellak, 2004. "How Domestic and Foreign Firms Differ and Why Does it Matter?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 483-514, September.
    3. Christian Bellak, 2001. "Multinational Enterprises and Their Domestic Counterparts: Past Research, Current Issues and Future Directions," Working Papers geewp18, Vienna University of Economics and Business Research Group: Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness.
    4. Harrison, Ann & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2010. "Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy for Developing Countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4039-4214, Elsevier.
    5. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Oldford, Erin & Otchere, Isaac, 2016. "Are cross-border acquisitions enemy of labor? An examination of employment and productivity effects," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 438-455.
    7. Harrison, Ann E. & Rodriguez-Clare, Andres, 2009. "Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy," MPRA Paper 15561, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. John S. Earle & Álmos Telegdy, 2007. "Ownership and Wages: Estimating Public-Private and Foreign-Domestic Differentials using LEED from Hungary, 1986-2003," NBER Working Papers 12997, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. John S. Earle & Álmos Telegdy, 2008. "Ownership and Wages: Estimating Public-Private and Foreign-Domestic Differentials with LEED from Hungary, 1986 to 2003," NBER Chapters, in: The Analysis of Firms and Employees: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, pages 229-252, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Greaney, Theresa M. & Tanaka, Ayumu, 2021. "Foreign Ownership, Exporting and Gender Wage Gaps: Evidence from Japanese Linked Employer-Employee Data," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    11. John S. Earle & Almos Telegdy, 2009. "Ownership and Wages: Estimating Publi-Private and Foreign-Domestic Differentials with LEED from Hungary, 1986 to 2003," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Stefan Bender & Julia Lane & Kathryn Shaw & Fredrick Andersson & till von Wachter (ed.),The Analysis of Firms and Employees: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, pages 229-252, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    12. Sourafel Girma & Holger Görg, 2016. "Multinationals’ Productivity Advantage: Scale Or Technology?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 1, pages 3-15, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Laura Alfaro & Andrés Rodriguez-Clare, 2004. "Multinationals and Linkages: An Empirical Investigation," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 113-169, January.
    14. Sergio Salis, 2008. "Foreign Acquisition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Slovenia," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 1030-1048, August.
    15. Lucia Piscitello & Larissa Rabbiosi, 2005. "The impact of inward FDI on local companies' labour productivity: evidence from the Italian case," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 35-51.
    16. Greenaway, David & Görg, Holger, 2002. "Much Ado About Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Investment?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3485, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Matthias Arnold, Jens & Javorcik, Beata S., 2009. "Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign direct investment and plant productivity in Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 42-53, September.
    18. Girma, Sourafel & Görg, Holger, 2001. "Blessing or Curse? Domestic Plants' Survival and Employment Prospects After Foreign Acquisition," CEPR Discussion Papers 2994, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Lorenzo Casaburi & Valeria Gattai, 2009. "Why FDI? An Empirical Assessment Based on Contractual Incompleteness and Dissipation of Intangible Assets," Working Papers 164, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2009.
    20. Nathalie Havet, 2006. "La valorisation salariale et professionnelle de la formation en entreprise diffère-t-elle selon le sexe ? L'exemple canadien," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 175(4), pages 147-161.

    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:wbk:wbrwps:3300. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    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.