Multinational Corporations and Spillovers

The operations of multinational corporations continue to stir strong emotions, both in the home countries and abroad. In the major home countries, the debate on foreign direct investment has ranged from worries that outward FDI may substitute for domestic investment and erode technology leadership, to the argument that firms must invest abroad in order to stay competitive in an increasingly international environment. The attitudes towards MNCs have also been mixed in the host countries, although the proponents of FDI seem to have gained the upper hand since the late 1980s. Most host countries have liberalized their FDI regulations since the early 1980s — many are now actively trying to encourage foreign firms to invest — and the benefits of inward FDI on capital formation, employment, exports and technology are generally considered to dominate the costs of foreign ownership of local factors of production.