Globalisation, Productivity and Technology
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| Programme Coordinator: Dr Richard Kneller "Firms have to adjust constantly to the challenges posed by globalisation. Understanding these adjustments are of immense scientific and policy interest." |
The Globalisation, Productivity and Technology programme examines the relationship between firms choices and those of their competitors about the internationalisation of production. Research focuses on the different decisions that firms make in how to serve international markets (or not), which markets they choose to serve, and where they choose to locate their production globally. A prominent theme of the research considers in turn the effect that these international outsourcing (or offshoring), exporting and foreign direct investment have on the performance of these firms. A newer research strand has begun to dig deeper into these decisions affect the products the firm produces and their quality. This research uses both theoretical modelling and econometric analysis of large micro level data sets. Much of the work is based on firm data for the UK. However, research also looks at other countries, for example China, Ireland, Sweden and Ghana.
Workshop on �Product Transactions in International Trade�, October 19th 2009. {further details}
The research is organised under the following themes
The effects of inward FDI
The impact of exporting on firm performance
International Outsourcing
The decision to export
The motives for FDI
Product Quality and firm survival strategies
Researchers whose work features within this theme include:
Internal Research Fellows
Fabrice Defever, Lecturer in Economics
Agelos Delis, Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Sourafel Girma, Professor of Industrial Economics
David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Economics
Liza Jabbour, Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Richard Kneller, Associate Professor in Economics
Zhihong Yu, RCUK Research Fellow
Xufei(Florence) Zhang, Post Doctoral Research Fellow
External Research Fellows
Professor Bruce Blonigen, University of Oregon
Professor Marius Br?lhart, University of Lausanne
Professor Peter Egger, University of Munich
Dr Robert Elliott, University of Birmingham
Professor Holger G?rg, Christian-Albrechts University
Dr Joakim Gullstrand, Lund University
Professor Jonathan Haskel, Queen Mary, University of London
Dr Beata Javorcik, University of Oxford
Dr Maurice Kugler, University of Southampton
Professor Mark Roberts, Penn State University
Professor Fredrik Sj?holm, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, Stockholm
Professor Vitor Trindade, University of Missouri
Professor Jim Tybout, Penn State University
Professor Hylke Vandenbussche, Universite Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve
The effects of inward foreign direct investment
The research questions here are principally of two forms. The main focus has been the search for evidence for spillovers, both productivity and export, from inward FDI. A second element of research has been the impact of ownership change on firm performance. Publications in this area by GEP Internal Fellows include (for a more complete list of GEP publications click here):
Sourafel Girma & Holger G?rg & Mauro Pisu, 2008. "Exporting, linkages and productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 41(1), pages 320-340, February.
Girma, Sourafel & Kneller, Richard & Pisu, Mauro, 2007. "Do exporters have anything to learn from foreign multinationals?," European Economic Review, vol. 51(4), pages 993-1010.
Sourafel Girma & Holger G?rg, 2007. "Multinationals' Productivity Advantage: Scale Or Technology?," Economic Inquiry, vol. 45(2), pages 350-362
Holger G?rg & Eric Strobl, 2005. "Spillovers from Foreign Firms through Worker Mobility: An Empirical Investigation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, vol. 107(4), pages 693-709.
Holger G?rg & David Greenaway, 2004. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Bank Research Observer, vol. 19(2), pages 171-197.
Recent working papers:
2009/03
2008/34
2008/16
2008/04
2007/31
2007/26
2007/25
The impact of exporting on firm performance
An area of lively debate within the academic community has been the direction of causation between the decision to export and its effect on the performance of the firm, mostly its productivity but also employment and R&D. Publications in this area by GEP Internal Fellows include (for a more complete list of GEP publications click here):
David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2007. "Firm heterogeneity, exporting and foreign direct investment," Economic Journal, vol. 117(517), pages F134-F161, 02.
Greenaway, David & Guariglia, Alessandra & Kneller, Richard, 2007. "Financial factors and exporting decisions," Journal of International Economics, vol. 73(2), pages 377-395, November.
Sourafel Girma & David Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2004. "Does Exporting Increase Productivity? A Microeconometric Analysis of Matched Firms," Review of International Economics, , vol. 12(5), pages 855-866.
Recent working papers:
2007/41
2007/18
2007/07
2007/04
International outsourcing and firms� productivity and innovation activity
This research strand has focused both on why some firms choose to outsource internationally and what the effects of these decisions are on the performance of the firm. Publications in this area by GEP Internal Fellows include (for a more complete list of GEP publications click here):
Holger G?rg & Aoife Hanley & Eric Strobl, 2008. "Productivity effects of international outsourcing: evidence from plant-level data," Canadian Journal of Economics, vol. 41(2), pages 670-688.
Sourafel Girma & Holger G?rg, 2004. "Outsourcing, Foreign Ownership, and Productivity: Evidence from UK Establishment-level Data," Review of International Economics, vol. 12(5), pages 817-832.
Recent working papers:
2009/04
2008/22
2008/20
2008/05
2008/02
2007/43
2007/14
2007/05
2007/44
The decision to export
The research in this theme has focussed on measuring the entry costs of exporting and to understand why some firms export and others do not. This is motivated by the observation that while trade costs are essential to describe different export choices by firms, little is known about them. Publications in this area by GEP Internal Fellows include (for a more complete list of GEP publications click here):
Greenaway, David & Kneller, Richard, 2008. "Exporting, productivity and agglomeration," European Economic Review, vol. 52(5), pages 919-939.
Richard Kneller & Mauro Pisu & Zhihong Yu, 2008. "Overseas business costs and firm export performance," Canadian Journal of Economics, vol. 41(2), pages 639-669.
Sourafel Girma & Richard Kneller & Mauro Pisu, 2005. "Exports versus FDI: An Empirical Test," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), vol. 141(2), pages 193-218.
Salvador Barrios & Holger Gorg & Eric Strobl, 2003. "Explaining Firms' Export Behaviour: R&D, Spillovers and the Destination Market," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, vol. 65(4), pages 475-496.
Recent working papers:
2008/42
2008/41
2008/30
2008/13
2008/09
2008/03
2007/28
2007/12
The motives for foreign direct investment
What makes a firm choose to locate its production elsewhere? What are the factors that lead a multinational to choose one country over another? Questions such as these form the heart of this research theme. Publications in this area by GEP Internal Fellows include (for a more complete list of GEP publications click here):
Holger G?rg & Michael Henry & Eric Strobl, 2008. "Grant Support and Exporting Activity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 90(1), pages 168-174.
Hijzen, Alexander & G?rg, Holger & Manchin, Miriam, 2008. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the role of trade costs," European Economic Review, vol. 52(5), pages 849-866.
Recent working papers:
2009/07
2008/39
2008/33
2008/06
2007/32
2007/03
Product quality and the survival strategy of firms
This is the newest of the research themes within GPT. Its focus is on how differences in the quality of the products and services that are produced by firms impacts on their decisions about internationalisation. A second element of the research considers what products are successful in international markets, and how that is shaped by the existing capabilities of the firm, and whether firms develop new product lines in order to survive. Publications in this area by GEP Internal Fellows include (for a more complete list of GEP publications click here):
Greenaway, David & Gullstrand, Joakim & Kneller, Richard, 2008. "Surviving globalisation," Journal of International Economics, vol. 74(2), pages 264-277.
Recent working papers:
2008/44
2008/18
2008/12
2008/01
2007/40
2007/10
2007/09
