This paper presents a synergy-based model of foreign investment and international takeovers in industrial countries. Takeovers of (or mergers with) firms abroad are used to appropriate local technology spillovers requiring geographical proximity, exploit intra-firm technology transfers, and...

We formulate a knowledge-based model of direct investment through mergers and acquisitions. Mamp;As are realized to create comparative advantages by exploiting international synergies and appropriating local technology spillovers requiring geographical proximity, but can also represent a...

The paper examines the real per-capita growth effects of the quality of democracy, the rule of law, and capital flows in developing countries. The direct growth effects of democracy are positive and often statistically significant. Moreover, the estimates from a three-stage least-squares...

We present a model of conglomeration motivated by technology synergies and strategic reductions in variable costs in the face of competitive pressures. The resulting firm integration is neither horizontal nor vertical but rather congeneric integration of firms in related industries. We...

This paper studies the structure and evolution of trade protection in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries in the 1990s. MENA countries use tariffs and nontariff barriers, and tariff dispersion and nontariff barriers, as substitute protection measures. Tariff levels and tariff...

Congo''s vital dependence on trade for development stands in contradiction with its trade policy. As a member of the CEMAC, Congo''s tariff scheme at least formally is guided by CEMAC''s 1994 trade regime agreement. This paper shows CEMAC''s customs code is restrictive relative to that of...

Congo's vital dependence on trade for development stands in contradiction with its trade policy. As a member of the CEMAC, Congo's tariff scheme at least formally is guided by CEMAC's 1994 trade regime agreement. This paper shows CEMAC's customs code is restrictive relative to that of comparable...