I highlight some of the key econometric problems facing the literature on FDI spillovers. For the most part, the existing literature takes the approach of estimating production functions in which the total factor productivity (TFP) of the domestic firms in a particular industry/country is...

Using Confidential Data on 1300 U.S.-based multinational corporations (MNCs), we examine whether MNCs that moved jobs out of Canada between 1983 and 2003 systematically moved the jobs elsewhere within the MNC. We also look at whether trends in the movement of jobs within MNCs differ for...

Researchers have found mixed results on whether FDI generates positive spillovers that improve the efficiency of host country economies. We argue that these inconclusive results may be due (in part) to the substantial heterogeneity in MNC affiliate activity, which prior research has largely...

Jordan has realized the necessity to pursue opportunities through integration into international production networks and cross-border trade. The country has recently undertaken ambitious reforms of its trade regime. These initiatives comprise the accession to the WTO in 2000, the signing of...

Morocco has made offshoring the number one economic development priority within its “Emergence” program. The government is heavily investing in human and physical capital and has undertaken important regulatory reforms in order to move the country towards becoming a knowledge economy. Many...

The Euro-Med Agreement between Tunisia and the European Union resulted in free bilateral trade for industrial products from January 1st, 2008. The stepwise dismantling of industrial tariff barriers vis-à-vis Tunisia’s main trading partner without encountering major disruptions in the domestic...

Electricity markets vary greatly across jurisdictions, in terms of regulatory institutions, cost levels and environmental impacts. Integrating such different markets can lead to significant changes. This paper considers two jurisdictions - one with a regulated monopoly selling at average cost...

The electricity sector is the largest source of GHG emissions in the world, and reducing these emissions would often be costly. However, because electricity markets remain often only integrated at a shallow level (with different pricing regulations), many gains from deeper integration (adoption...

Using a strategy of export-led growth and an activist industrial policy, Japan, the Asian Tigers and more recently China have attained high rates of economic growth. Export-led growth has taken over the status as model for developing countries' economic development from the formerly prevailing...