We analyze the productivity level for parent firms and their affiliates in foreign countries, using large-scale parent-affiliate-linked data for the Japanese manufacturing multinational firms. We first measure the labor productivity level converted to the internationally comparable unit using...

This paper examines how Japanese firms' export decision is affected by the availability of information on export markets, focusing on whether the availability of such information has a different impact on the export decision between large firms and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In...

This paper develops and tests a simple model of the simultaneous determination of gross fixed capital formation by multinational Japanese firms in home and host countries. We treat multinational firms as multi-product firms, choosing optimal investment locations and production scale for each...

Using factory-level data for Japan's manufacturing sector, we estimate the relationship between the unit values of gross output and factor intensities. We find a significant and positive relationship between the unit value of a product and its white-collar labor intensity, which supports the...

Although heterogeneity in the performance of firms is a well-established stylized fact, we still lack full understanding of its origins and the reasons why it persists. Instead of assuming that performance differences are exogenous, this paper focuses on two endogenous strategies - innovation...

An increasing number of manufacturers are shifting some stages of the production process offshore. This study investigates the effects of offshoring on productivity in Japanese manufacturing industries for the period 1988-2004. Material offshoring, as measured by an import share of intermediate...

There is a growing body of literature analyzing empirically the evolution of productivity dispersion at the firm level and its determinants. This paper contributes to this literature by investigating the case of Japanese firms during the so-called "Lost Decade" (1992-2005), which is still...

(Introduction) The purpose of this paper is to explain the preliminary version of the newly compiled Japan Industrial Productivity Database (JIP 2006) and report some results of our growth accounting analysis based on this database. The JIP 2006 contains information on 108 sectors from 1970 to...

Does localization of procurements, sales, and management contribute to the profitability of overseas affiliates? This study examines this question by analyzing the performance of Japanese multinationals' manufacturing affiliates in China using a comprehensive affiliate-level dataset for the...

In spite of the importance of FDI in Japan, Japan's official statistics on inward FDI have many drawbacks in comparison with U.S. statistics. Using micro data of the Establishment and Enterprise Census of Japan, we compile new statistics on the employment of Japanese affiliates of foreign firms...