Cultural allegiances whether inherited, imposed or chosen, affect economic activity. Many of these cultural layers – ethnic background, religion, language, ideological orientation, and artistic interests – spill over national boundaries. Cultural ideas travel the world along many routes from...

This paper reviews the relationship between international investment agreements (IIAs) and foreign direct investment (FDI). It is organised in two parts. The first part explores the generic structure of IIAs and highlights the components that are particularly relevant to FDI. It then gives an...

This paper uncovers a novel pattern of offshoring dynamics in a high-tech industry, and proposes a structural model to explain it. Specifically, the hard disk drive industry (1976-98) witnessed massive waves of entry, exit, and the relocation of manufacturing plants to low-cost countries, in...

In this paper we closely examine the implications of comparative advantage for foreign direct investment (FDI) incentives. Particularly, we find that the host country¡¯s comparative advantage sector is more attractive to inward FDI than its comparative disadvantage sector. This finding is...

We consider two channels via which foreign inputs into industrial production may lead to productivity effects. The first one concerns dynamic externalities between firms which share technical and organizational knowledge which is vital for the productivity growth of a particular industry. We...

We consider two channels via which foreign inputs into industrial production may lead to productivity effects. The first one concerns dynamic externalities between firms which share technical and organizational knowledge which is vital for the productivity growth of a particular industry. We...

We consider two channels via which foreign inputs into industrial production may lead to productivity effects. The first one concerns dynamic externalities between firms which share technical and organizational knowledge which is vital for the productivity growth of a particular industry. We...