IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wiw/wiwrsa/ersa04p37.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Location choices of multinational firms in Europe: the role of national boundaries and EU policy

Author

Listed:
  • Roberto Basile

    ()

  • Davide Castellani

    ()

  • Antonello Zanfei

    ()

Abstract

We examine the determinants of multinational firmsÂ’ location choices in Europe by estimating a nested logit model on a data-set of 5,761 foreign subsidiaries established in 55 regions in 8 EU countries over the period 1991-1999. We find that firms perceive regions across different countries as more similar than regions within national borders. This might be revealing that the process of European integration has reduced the national specificities perceived by multinationals and that regions within Europe compete to attract FDIs more across than within countries. Controlling for regional market size and potential, agglomeration economies and labor markets conditions, we also find that EU regional policy, captured by Cohesion Funds and Objective 1 eligibility, played a significant role in attracting multinationals, thus mitigating the agglomeration forces at work. Differences emerge in determinants of EU and US multinationals location choices, with special reference to the role of labor markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Basile & Davide Castellani & Antonello Zanfei, 2004. "Location choices of multinational firms in Europe: the role of national boundaries and EU policy," ERSA conference papers ersa04p37, European Regional Science Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p37
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-sre.wu.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa04/PDF/37.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ron A. Boschma & Jan G. Lambooy, 1999. "Evolutionary economics and economic geography," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 411-429.
    2. Fatas, Antonio, 1997. "EMU: Countries or regions? Lessons from the EMS experience," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 743-751, April.
    3. Devereux, Michael P & Griffith, Rachel, 2003. "Evaluating Tax Policy for Location Decisions," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 107-126, March.
    4. Ciccone, Antonio, 2002. "Agglomeration effects in Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 213-227, February.
    5. Crozet, Matthieu & Mayer, Thierry & Mucchielli, Jean-Louis, 2004. "How do firms agglomerate? A study of FDI in France," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 27-54, January.
    6. Puga, Diego & Venables, Anthony J., 1996. "The Spread of Industry: Spatial Agglomeration in Economic Development," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 440-464, December.
    7. Jean-Louis Mucchielli & Thierry Mayer, 1999. "La localisation à l'étranger des entreprises multinationales," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/10196, Sciences Po.
    8. Head, Keith & Ries, John & Swenson, Deborah, 1995. "Agglomeration benefits and location choice: Evidence from Japanese manufacturing investments in the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3-4), pages 223-247, May.
    9. James R. Markusen, 2004. "Multinational Firms and the Theory of International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262633078, January.
    10. Masahisa Fujita & Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 2001. "The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions, and International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262561476, January.
    11. John A. Cantwell & Lucia Piscitello, 2003. "The Recent Location of Foreign R&D Activities by Large MNCs in the European Regions. The Role of Different Sources of Spillovers," ERSA conference papers ersa03p322, European Regional Science Association.
    12. Gropp, Reint & Kostial, Kristina, 2000. "The disappearing tax base: is foreign direct investment eroding corporate income taxes?," Working Paper Series 0031, European Central Bank.
    13. Martin, Ron, 1999. "The New 'Geographical Turn' in Economics: Some Critical Reflections," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 65-91, January.
    14. Salvador Barrios & Holger Görg & Eric Strobl, 2006. "Multinationals' Location Choice, Agglomeration Economies, and Public Incentives," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 29(1), pages 81-107, January.
    15. Louviere,Jordan J. & Hensher,David A. & Swait,Joffre D., 2000. "Stated Choice Methods," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521788304, April.
    16. Diego Puga, 2002. "European regional policies in light of recent location theories," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 373-406, October.
    17. Andres RodrIguez-Pose & Ugo Fratesi†, 2004. "Between Development and Social Policies: The Impact of European Structural Funds in Objective 1 Regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 97-113.
    18. Davide Castellani & Antonello Zanfei, 2003. "Technology gaps, absorptive capacity and the impact of inward investments on productivity of European firms ," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 555-576.
    19. Roberto, Basile, 2004. "Acquisition versus greenfield investment: the location of foreign manufacturers in Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 3-25, January.
    20. Disdier, Anne-Celia & Mayer, Thierry, 2004. "How different is Eastern Europe? Structure and determinants of location choices by French firms in Eastern and Western Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 280-296, June.
    21. John Cantwell & Lucia Piscitello, 2005. "Recent Location of Foreign-owned Research and Development Activities by Large Multinational Corporations in the European Regions: The Role of Spillovers and Externalities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 1-16.
    22. Train,Kenneth E., 2009. "Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521747387, April.
    23. Keith Head & Thierry Mayer, 2000. "Non-Europe: The magnitude and causes of market fragmentation in the EU," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 136(2), pages 284-314, June.
    24. Castellani, Davide & Zanfei, Antonello, 2004. "Choosing international linkage strategies in the electronics industry: the role of multinational experience," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 447-475, April.
    25. Sergio Mariotti & Lucia Piscitello, 1995. "Information Costs and Location of FDIs within the Host Country: Empirical Evidence from Italy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(4), pages 815-841, December.
    26. Keith Head & Thierry Mayer, 2004. "Market Potential and the Location of Japanese Investment in the European Union," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(4), pages 959-972, November.
    27. Devereux, Michael P. & Griffith, Rachel, 1998. "Taxes and the location of production: evidence from a panel of US multinationals," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 335-367, June.
    28. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 1999. "Convergence or Divergence? Types of Regional Responses to Socio-Economic Change in Western Europe," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 90(4), pages 365-378, November.
    29. Barrell, Ray & Pain, Nigel, 1999. "Domestic institutions, agglomerations and foreign direct investment in Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4-6), pages 925-934, April.
    30. Hensher, David A. & Greene, William H., 2002. "Specification and estimation of the nested logit model: alternative normalisations," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 1-17, January.
    31. Cantwell, John & Iammarino, Simona, 2001. "EU Regions and Multinational Corporations: Change, Stability and Strengthening of Technological Comparative Advantages," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 1007-1037, December.
    32. Florian Heiss, 2002. "Structural choice analysis with nested logit models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 2(3), pages 227-252, August.
    33. Guimaraes, Paulo & Figueiredo, Octavio & Woodward, Douglas, 2000. "Agglomeration and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in Portugal," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 115-135, January.
    34. Roberta De Santis & Maria Cristina Mercuri & Claudio Vicarelli, 2001. "Taxes and Location of Foreign Direct Investments: an Empirical Analysys for the European Union Countries," ISAE Working Papers 24, ISTAT - Italian National Institute of Statistics - (Rome, ITALY).
    35. Gorg, Holger & Strobl, Eric, 2001. "Multinational Companies and Productivity Spillovers: A Meta-analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(475), pages 723-739, November.
    36. Head, C. Keith & Ries, John C. & Swenson, Deborah L., 1999. "Attracting foreign manufacturing: Investment promotion and agglomeration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 197-218, March.
    37. Karen Helene Midelfart-Knarvik & Henry G. Overman, 2002. "Delocation and European integration: is structural spending justified?," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 17(35), pages 321-359, October.
    38. Agnès Bénassy-Quéré & Lionel Fontagné & Amina Lahrèche-Revil, 2000. "Foreign Direct Investment and the Prospects for Tax Co-Ordination in Europe," Working Papers 2000-06, CEPII research center.
    39. Paul Krugman, 1992. "A Dynamic Spatial Model," NBER Working Papers 4219, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Frances Ruane & Xiaoheng Zhang, 2007. "Where do MNEs Expand Production: Location Choices of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Europe after 1992," Papers WP211, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    2. Davide Castellani & Valentina Meliciani & Loredana Mirra, 2016. "The Determinants of Inward Foreign Direct Investment in Business Services across European Regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 671-691, April.
    3. Rodrigo Alegria, 2006. "Countries, Regions and Multinational Firms: Location Determinants in the European Union," ERSA conference papers ersa06p143, European Regional Science Association.
    4. Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod & Daniel Liviano-Solis & Miguel Manjón-Antolín, 2010. "Empirical Studies In Industrial Location: An Assessment Of Their Methods And Results," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 685-711.
    5. Siedschlag, Iulia & Zhang, Xiaoheng & Smith, Donal, 2009. "What Determines the Attractiveness of EU Regions to the Location of Multinational Firms in the ICT Sector?," Papers DYNREG45, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    6. Kokko, Ari & Gustavsson, Patrik, 2004. "Regional integration, foreign direct investment, and regional development," EIB Papers 5/2004, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    7. Chandra R. Bhat & Rajesh Paleti & Palvinder Singh, 2014. "A Spatial Multivariate Count Model For Firm Location Decisions," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 462-502, June.
    8. Roberto Basile & Luigi Benfratello & Davide Castellani, 2005. "Attracting Foreign Investments in Europe - are Italian Regions Doomed?," ERSA conference papers ersa05p148, European Regional Science Association.
    9. Roberto Basile & Luigi Benfratello & Davide Castellani, 2010. "Location Determinants of Greenfield Foreign Investments in the Enlarged Europe: Evidence from a Spatial Autoregressive Negative Binomial Additive Model," Working papers 10, Former Department of Economics and Public Finance "G. Prato", University of Torino.
    10. Calá, Carla Daniela, 2009. "Spatial issues on firm demography: an analysis for Argentina," Nülan. Deposited Documents 1379, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    11. Roberto Basile & Luigi Benfratello & Davide Castellani, 2005. "Attracting Foreign Direct Investments in Europe: Are Italian Regions Doomed?," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, vol. 95(1), pages 319-319, January-F.
    12. Riess, Armin & Uppenberg, Kristian, 2004. "The internationalisation of production: moving plants, products, and people," EIB Papers 1/2004, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    13. Lammertjan Dam & Bert Scholtens & Elmer Sterken, 2007. "Corporate Governance and International Location Decisions of Multinational Enterprises," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 1330-1347, November.
    14. Basile, Roberto & Castellani, Davide & Zanfei, Antonello, 2008. "Location choices of multinational firms in Europe: The role of EU cohesion policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 328-340, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p37. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Gunther Maier). General contact details of provider: http://www.ersa.org .

    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 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.

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.