Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the theoretical underpinnings of knowledge transfer within Japanese multinationals. To that end, a conceptual model of knowledge transfer within Japanese multinational companies and their overseas affiliates is proposed. Design/methodology/approach – In the first part, theoretical models of knowledge transfer within multinationals in general ...

Do multinational firms exhibit different patterns of labor demand from purely domestic firms? Many standard models of trade and multinational companies suggest such differences. We examine this question using a plant-level panel covering U.K. manufacturing from 1973 through 1992, where we can distinguish U.K.-headquartered multinationals, foreign-owned multinationals, and domestic U.K. firms. A...

Fancy a Stay at the "Hotel California"? Foreign Direct Investment, Taxation and Firing Costs This paper looks at the trade off between investment incentives and exit costs for the location of foreign direct investment (FDI). This issue does not appear to have been tackled in much detail in the literature. The analysis considers the effect of profit taxation (as a measure of investment incentive...

The theory of international trade suggests that free trade will raise national income. It does not, however, suggest that the incomes of all factors of production will rise. Indeed, Stolper and Samuelson (1941) showed that the removal of import barriers could lower the income of the factor of production used relatively intensively in the production of imported products. Therefore, if OECD impor...

We consider a trade model combining 2x2x2 Heckscher-Ohlin structure, monopolistic competition, transport costs, and multinational corporations. demonstrate how the mix of national firms that operate in equilibrium depends on technology division world endowment between countries. Multinationals are more likely to exist similar countries both relative absolute endowments. Where multinationals the...

In this paper we explore the relationship between the size of a country, the size of its cities, and the economic performance of the country. In order to do this we integrate three different literature, namely the literature on optimal country size, literature on historical processes of urbanisation and the performance of cities, and literature on the role of multinational firms in the global e...