1,721,055 research outputs found
FDI from emerging markets and the productivity gap : an analysis on affiliates of BRICS EMNEs in Europe
Full text linkThis paper analyses differences in productivity of foreign affiliates of emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) from the BRICS against their counterparts from developed countries and domestic MNEs. Based on a large database on foreign affiliates in Europe, results find EMNEs at the bottom of the productivity ladder, with an average productivity gap of around 30 percentage points compared to more established competitors. The paper also shows that this effect is not homogeneously distributed since it varies in terms of sectorial distribution and technology intensity of activities performed, as well as by geographic destination. Moreover, firms’ heterogeneity plays a key role given that productivity differentials are largely accounted for the least productive firms, while those at the top of the distribution tend to reach similar performances than their more established competitors, especially in services
Chinese FDI to Africa: What is the Nexus with foreign economic cooperation?
No full textChina, once a major recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI), has recently become one of the main 'emerging' investors, especially in developing countries. Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) plays a very prominent role in economic interaction with many African countries. This paper empirically investigates the determinants of Chinese OFDI versus 41 African countries over the period 1998-2007. The analysis is novel because it provides empirical support to the existing, so far purely anecdotic, evidence describing Chinese FDI to Africa as driven by natural resources endowments and market potential. The econometric analysis highlights strong interrelationships between Chinese FDI and economic cooperation, which make standard models of investments unfit when assessing the role of China in Africa. It also suggests some new lines of research, exploiting the strong links between these different sources of financing
China’s competition and the export price strategies of developed countries
Full text linkThis paper analyzes the impact of Chinese competition on developed countries’ export prices. The empirical application is on Italy, one of the main European manufacturing exporters with exports at high risk of competition from China. Our results show that, following China’s entry into the WTO, the price strategies of Italian firms has been affected. While in general the increasing Chinese export competition resulted in an upgrading of products exported, the impact has been different according to the sector and technological level. The incentives to upgrade have been stronger for low technology sectors, where competition is tougher and varieties of products sold lower. To highlight quality differentials, and isolate the effects on the different segments of the distribution of Italy’s export prices, we run quantile regressions. We find that are mainly those products sold at low prices to face a strong pressure to upgrade
Spillovers from agglomerations and inward FDI: a multilevel analysis on sub-Saharan African firms
Full text linkThis paper adopts multilevel analysis to study the agglomeration-performance nexus for domestic firms in sub-Saharan Africa. We show that contextual factors can explain up to 30 % of the variance in firms’ productivity, more than half of which depends on the geographic location. Our results show also that African firms’ productivity is positively correlated to the size of the agglomeration when they locate in larger cities specialized in different sectors, while the relation turns negative when they face direct competition from firms in the same industry. These effects are similar in the services and the manufacturing industries, even if in the latter positive spillovers are found to be conditional to the presence of backward and forward linkages with nearby firms. Finally, we are able to show that these effects are also confirmed when domestic firms locate close to foreign multinationals, especially those coming from the South
Understanding China's move into Africa : an empirical analysis
No full textPublished online: 3 February 2009An important new issue on the international scene is the upsurge in market and non-market South–South relations. The aim of this paper is to understand the dynamics that lie behind the recent Chinese move into Africa by empirically exploring the determinants of Sino-African relationships. In order to have a comprehensive picture, the analysis takes into consideration the main channels of commercial and political interactions: outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), trade and aid (international economic cooperation). The empirical analysis utilises a panel data set, from 1998 to 2005, for 43 African countries. The econometric estimates for three simultaneous equations are based on an instrumental variables method. Results show that the Chinese move into Africa is driven by strategic interaction among the three channels (FDI, trade and economic cooperation) as well as by pull factors, i.e. the characteristics of the receiving countries in terms of natural resource endowments and their market potential
Structural change and wage inequality in the manufacturing sector : long run evidence from East Asia
Full text linkPublished online: 15 Apr 2015This paper analyses the long run determinants of wage inequality in the manufacturing sector for a group of East Asian countries that have experienced rapid structural transformations in recent decades. In line with the skill biased technological change hypothesis, our results show that within manufacturing structural change which fosters the participation of higher skilled workers is a strong determinant of the wage premium. However, the paper also highlights an unusual feature of the East Asian model, showing how well-designed education policies, prudent macroeconomic management and selective policies towards foreign capital can help to buffer the pressure of structural change on wage inequality, even in an open economy context
The Productivity Gaps of Female-Owned Firms: Evidence from Ethiopian Census Data
No full textThis paper provides new empirical evidence on the relative productivity disadvantage of female-owned firms compared to male-owned firms in a developing country setting. We rely on a large panel of manufacturing firms based on an annual census run by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia. Our preferred estimation shows a 12% difference in levels of total factor productivity between female- and male-owned firms. Drawing on novel quantile approaches to formally compare productivity distributions, we also dig deeper into some of the potential mechanisms underlying this gender-based firm productivity gap. Our findings suggest that various forces are at work. Most female-owned firms seem to concentrate in certain less productive sub-sectors and only very few succeed in standing out. Moreover, lower productivity of female-owned firms is shown to relate to a combination of observed firm characteristics and unobserved structural factors that varies according to a firm’s position in the overall productivity distribution
Supply chains and the internationalization of small firms
Full text linkThis paper explores the relation between supply-chain participation and the internationalization of firms. We show that even small and less productive firms, if involved in production chains, can take advantage of reduced costs of entry and economies of scale that enhance their probability of exporting. The empirical analysis is carried out on an original database, obtained by merging and matching balance-sheet data with data from a survey on over 25,000 Italian firms, which include direct information on the involvement in supply chains. We find a positive and significant relation between being part of a supply chain and the probability of exporting, as well as the intensive margin of trade. The number of foreign markets served (the extensive margin), on the other hand, does not seem to be affected. We also investigate whether being in different positions along the chain, i.e., upstream or downstream, matters, and we find that downstream producers tend to benefit more. Our results are robust to different specifications, estimation methods, and the inclusion of the control variables typically used in heterogeneous firms models
Do Chinese Exports Crowd-out African Goods? An Econometric Analysis by Country and Sector
No full textTrade is one of the key channels through which Chinese economic growth affects the world economy and especially developing countries. African manufacturing sector is confined to few traditional sectors. Even if at times, and in some sectors, African exports have been favored by preferential treatments, Africa has proven to be particularly vulnerable to the competitive threat posed by China in third markets, including other African countries. With the intensification of economic relations, in fact, China has started flooding African markets with its low-cost manufactures, often at the expense of local producers. Furthermore, in Africa's main trade partners, namely United States and European Union, most Chinese goods are likely to crowd-out cheap African manufactures. We measure the indirect impact of China on African exports. Using disaggregated data for the period 1995–2005, we present significant evidence on the existence of a displacement effect at different levels: sector, product, region and market.C'est à travers la croissance économique chinoise que se manifeste l'un des plus grands impacts de la chine sur l’économie mondiale et plus particulièrement sur celle des pays en développement. Le secteur manufacturier africain se limite à quelques productions traditionnelles. Même si, à certaines périodes et dans certains secteurs, les exportations africaines ont bénéficié de traitements préférentiels, l’Afrique s’est avérée particulièrement vulnérable à la menace compétitive exercée par la Chine sur les marchés tiers, y compris sur d’autres marchés africains. En effet, avec l’intensification des relations économiques, la Chine a commencé à inonder les marchés africains avec des produits manufacturés à bas coûts, souvent au détriment des producteurs locaux. De surcroît, aux Etats Unis et en Europe, principaux partenaires des pays africains, les produits chinois sont aussi susceptibles d’évincer des produits manufacturés africains bon marché. Nous mesurons l’impact indirect de la concurrence chinoise sur les exportations africaines. En utilisant des données désagrégées sur la période 1995–2005, nous mettons en évidence l’effet de déplacement au niveau des secteurs, des produits, des régions et des marchés.European Journal of Development Research (2009) 21, 506–530. doi:10.1057/ejdr.2009.20
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