Capital Intensity and Export Propensity in Some Latin American.

This paper tests an eclectic theory of the relationship of choice of factor proportions to foreign ownershi p, export propensity, and level of development, using a sample of fir ms in several industries from four areas of Latin America. In eclecti c technology theory, provided that foreign ownership is a positive de terminant of capital intensity, higher export propensity by transnati onal firms is, ceteris paribus, a cause of lower capital intensity. M ore "appropriate" technology and the associated employment benefits will tend to follow from a policy of encouraging entry of exporter f irms and promoting international competition. Copyright 1987 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd