DP5592 Organization of Multinational Activities and Ownership Structure

Author(s):	Christian Mugele, Monika Schnitzer
Publication Date:	March 2006
Keyword(s):	distance, joint ventures, multinational firms, ownership structure, technology spillovers
JEL(s):	D23, F23, L22, L23, L24
Programme Areas:	Industrial Organization, International Trade and Regional Economics, Institutions and Economic Performance
Link to this Page:	www.cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=5592

We develop a model in which multinational investors decide about the modes of organization, the locations of production, and the markets to be served. Foreign investments are driven by market-seeking and cost-reducing motives. We further assume that investors face costs of control that vary among sectors and increase in distance. The results show that (i) production intensive sectors are more likely to operate a foreign business independent of the investment motive, (ii) that distance may have a non-monotonous effect on the likelihood of horizontal investments, and (iii) that globalization, if understood as reducing distance, leads to more integration.