Abstract Japan is the second largest economic power in the world. It has a great deal of FDI outflows but few FDI inflows. Therefore, Japan is in the serious situation of ¡§FDI balance of payments deficit.¡¨ In terms of inward FDI stocks as a percentage of GDP and gross fixed capital formation, Japan is the lowest place of G-7. The purpose of this research is focusing on discussing the shortage of FDI inflows and causing factors which lower the desires of investments in Japan by using the simplest way which is based on the actual situation and the limit of the information in Japan. This paper takes the quarterly data of Japan from 1978 to 2005 and four variables (wage index, real exchange rate, trade and FDI inflows). In this research, the unit root test is used to check if the data have the stationarity or not, and then it uses vector autoregression model (VAR) to proceed impulse response function and forecast error variance decomposition. According to the result of these two approaches, we can figure out the influences of four variables for each other, and then find out the causing factors which lead Japan to have less FDI inflows. The calculation shows that the reason which leads Japanese wages to increase gradually results not only from real exchange rate, trade and FDI inflows, but also from Japanese labor system (lifetime employment system and payment according to working seniority) and the labor quantities. The causality runs from real exchange rate to trade is greater than vice versa. Trade has a positive impact from the real exchange rate which means that the depreciation can accelerate trade. However, the main factor of hindering FDI inflows is Japanese high wages rather than real exchange rate or trade. Therefore, in order to get rid of the depression which was caused by the bubble economy in 1990s, Japanese government not only opens up the restrictions in policy but also takes the control of the prime costs into the most important consideration.

This study investigates whether there are technology spillovers through foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkish manufacturing industry. Before the econometric estimation, theoretical and empirical literature on FDI and technology spillovers especially by transnational corporations (TNCs) is analyzed in detail. Also, historical perspective of FDI and review of the related literature for Turkey constitutes an important part of the study. To test the spillover effects of FDI, the dataset including sectoral level determinants of 89 different sectors, according to ISIC (International Standard of Industrial Classification) 4-digit industrial classification, in Turkish manufacturing industry is used. The dataset is obtained from Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) for the period 1983-2001. Sectoral market shares of foreign firms are used as spillover variables / and horizontal spillovers are tested. Although some specifications of variables produce negative and insignificant results, the significant regression results show that there are positive spillover effects from foreign firms to domestic firms through horizontal spillovers. In this estimation, six different proxies of capital stock are used to test the robustness of the results / and also, spillovers are tested in terms of low-technology-using (Low-Tech) sectors and high-technology-using (High-Tech) sectors.

Industrial Networks and Foreign Direct Investment: The Study of Taiwan¡¦s Steel Industry Abstract Facing the changing environment, many Taiwan businesses try to achieve economy of scale and develop their markets by taking foreign direct investment (FDI), especially under poor macroeconomic conditions in Taiwan and the driving force of cheap costs from developing countries. Conventionally, it is considered that big firms take FDI to bring their specific advantages into foreign markets. From the view of industrial networks, FDI is a method for firms to set up a linkage with foreign networks. They need not establish foreign networks by themselves. They can establish and utilize foreign networks through FDI. The steel industry is capital and technology intensive, and with high entry barriers in nature. The industrial networks are very important to a steel firm because it is very difficult to attain all the production resources. The key success factor is the competence to grasp the production resources so as to obtain cost advantages and synergy. In the past decade, facing lack of labor, increasing land cost, and market pull, the down-stream firms took FDI dramatically. The middle- and up-stream firms are also eager to do so. Because of the huge investment scale and other limitations, it is not easy for upstream firms to take FDI. Even China Steel Corporation (CSC) has overcome a lot of obstacles in the past decade and finally acquired ORNA Steel in Malaysia to establish a bridgehead in Southeastern Asia. From the view of industrial networks, this study tries, first, to investigate the network change of the firms of Taiwan¡¦s steel industry after taking FDI, and next examine the change of competitiveness and ways of attaining profit. We construct a model which divides them into four types of firms and their ways of attaining profits. They are: flagship type industry/profit sharing, clan type industry/profit shifting, lone knight type industry/profit capturing, stragglers type industry/profit disappearing. Then, we use this model to examine cases of Taiwan¡¦s up, middle, and down stream steel industry in a dynamic way. Finally, we propose some recommendations for the government and steel industry to improve the competitiveness of the steel industry.

The Japanese General Trading Company(GTC) holds the uniqe business model in the world and is also the reprensentative of multinational enterprise in Japan. After the reforming and opening-up policy in China, how do GTCs access to China? As what does Chinese government regard GTCs? The thesis primarily concentrates the channels which the GTCs access to the market in China, and the Chinese government¡¦s attitude to GTCs by studying business cases. The thesis Claims GTCs are the organizer of the Japanese enterprises in China and Chinese government also considers non-economic factors when utilizing foreign capital. The result of the study can not only assit reader to understand the business characters of GTCs in China but also advise the foreign investors in China of some non-economic problems.

Vietnam has been a popular place for Taiwanese businesses to invest in lately. Vietnam¡¦s economy has been growing since implementing a reform policy called ¡§Doi Moi¡¨ (renovation) in 1986. Vietnam is an emerging market and attracts more and more Taiwanese multinational enterprises (MNEs) to engage in foreign direct investment (FDI). Taiwan plays an important role in FDI in Vietnam and is the third biggest investing country there, only behind South Korea and Singapore. The purpose for this research is to investigate what determinants would influence Taiwanese MNEs¡¦ when deciding between joint ventures (JVs) and wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) when they enter the Vietnamese market. According to the literature review of the resource based view, the eclectic theory, transaction cost theory and institution theory, the framework is developed by two dimensions, parent company¡¦s advantages and environment in the host country. The independent variables under this framework are R&D intensity, firm size, international experiences, debt ratio, ROA, Vietnamese government¡¦s restriction and Vietnamese economy. Through secondhand data, Taiwanese MNEs investing Vietnam were sampled for this research. By the Pearson¡¦s correlation coefficient and the binary logistic regression, hypotheses were tested by which independent variables had significant correlation to the dependent variable, the investment decision (JVs or WOS). The findings of this study reveal that when a Taiwanese parent firm has a lower debt ratio it would be more likely to invest in Vietnam by WOS. Also, Taiwanese MNEs would tend to invest there by WOS when the economy in Vietnam becomes better. But the rest of the variables do not have significant correlations with the investment decision in this research. The result of this study can offer a reference for companies wanting to enter the Vietnamese market in the future.

No description available.

<p>This thesis analyses what effects foreign direct investments (FDI) has on a firm’s gross profit, wages and labour productivity. Focus is on the Swedish industrial goods and service sector which has shown on a rapid growth of offshore production. We use a theoretical framework with FDI and productivity theories. As a result of cost efficient alternatives to domestic production, a firm’s productivity should fall in the case of increased foreign production. Although, the increase in gross profit should rule out the negative affect that a decrease in productivity cause.</p><p>There is a positive relationship between offshore production and gross profits, and expanded foreign production leads to a decreased wage rate. However, increased foreign employment showed a boost the labour productivity, which is wrong from a theoretical point of view.</p> / <p>I den här uppsatsen analyseras hur utländska direktinvesteringar påverkar företags vinster, löner och arbetsproduktivitet. Fokus är ställt på svenska företag inom sektorn industriella varor och tjänster. Den teoretiska delen tar upp utländska direktinvesteringar och arbetsproduktivitet. Som ett resultat av kostnadseffektiva alternativ utomlands, borde arbetsproduktiviteten falla om den utländska produktionen ökar. Den väntade vinstökningen efter utlandslokalisering borde dock ge en generell positiv effekt.</p><p>Den empiriska delen visar ett positivt samband mellan utlandslokalisering och vinst. Bevis finnes också för att medellönen sjunker när utlandslokaliseringen ökar. Empiriska resultat visar också att ökad utlandslokalisering ökar arbetsproduktiviteten, vilket ur teoretisk ståndpunkt inte stämmer.</p>

<p>As discussed in the factor-price equalization theorem, prices, and thus wages, tend to equalize as a result of trade between two countries. The focus of this thesis is to perform a time series regression in order to evaluate whether wage convergence has taken place between Mexico and the United Sates of America due to the establishment of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The authors of this thesis conclude that wage convergence did take place between the two countries in question, since the slopes found using the regression are mostly positive, indicating an increasing real wage ratio between Mexico and the United States of America.</p>

<p>The world we live in is getting more and more global and this development carries many affects, not least for the business environment. During the last decades foreign direct investments have increased rapidly. Historically speaking, foreign direct investments were primarily undertaken by large corporations with high turnover and financial strength. However, with the alleviation of investment regulations smaller companies now also have an opportunity to reap the benefits of international business. Jönköping County is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and high density of small- and medium sized companies. We found that it would be interesting to discover the reason why these, usually successful, firms conducted foreign direct investments.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe the reasons and factors behind a foreign direct investment undertaken by mediumsized manufacturing firms in the Jönköping region.</p><p>The research was carried out by using a qualitative method. We found five firms within this region that were of medium size and wanted to participate in our study. The companies that we interviewed were; Eldon AB, Carlfors Bruk AB, AB Pettersons Järn-förädling, IDAB WAMAC International AB, and RH Form AB.</p><p>The main reason for conducting a foreign direct investment mentioned by these firms was market seeking motives. The companies wanted to enter new markets in order to grow and widen their customer base. The firms were mainly seeking markets that were large and had a good potential for growth. The remaining company based their decision on a resource seeking motive. The firms have decided to enter these markets through different entry modes. The firms that saw risks and lack of knowledge as important factors have chosen to use a joint venture as an entry mode. The companies that wanted a quick entry chose acquisitions as their form of entry. The two firms that have done green-field investments have done so for different reasons. One had knowledge and contacts already and did not see the need to acquire another firm and the other wanted to keep the full control of its technology. We have found that the factors in the host markets are most influential in the decision to invest abroad, and that push factors from the domestic market has had little significance. The firms are aware of the risks involved but do not choose location based on them.</p>

<p>The last two centuries have been distinguished by technological innovation, liberalization and globalization of the world economy. Out of this environment the multinational enterprises (MNEs) have arisen -seeking the best profit opportunities around the world without consideration to poverty and equality in the host countries. This has raised the interest of the present study where the objective is to assess the impact MNEs have on the host country in terms of transferring know-how. By testing two hypotheses, the study attempts to analyze whether MNEs entail a transfer of skills and also identifies the extent to which MNEs are a potential source of skill-upgrading. The research is realized by a qualitative minor field study in Dakar where 24 semi-structured interviews are carried out at three MNEs and three Senegalese enterprises. The interviews are jointly analyzed with a theoretical framework in order to determinate if there are significant differences between the two types of enterprises concerning the wage-setting, working conditions as well as transfer of know-how. The result shows that MNEs have more training opportunities then local enterprises, the working conditions do not differ significantly. Further there is no evidence found for MNEs paying higher wages then local enterprises judged by the general attitude of the interviewees. It is therefore assumed to be some labor mobility, implying that the training contributed by MNEs might work a source of skill-upgrade for the workforce in Dakar.</p>