Production processes are increasingly organized in international value-chain networks. The involved firms can be operating at arm’s length or be vertically integrated. Both the incidence and the direction of integration (backward or forward in the value chain) depend on specific...

Previous empirical studies suggest that decentralization, measured by the number of government layers, is associated with less foreign direct investment (FDI). With an improved dataset on tax autonomy of sub-federal government tiers, we present evidence that fiscal decentralization (de facto)...

Service inputs are a key component of the costs of exporting, and contribute to explain the process of internationalization of firms. A new dataset on the participation of French firms in global value chains reveals that firms with longer export experience in a market are more likely to source...

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many of the weaknesses in our current systems of government and commerce. In this essay, I provide some historical context to the recent era of "hyper-globalization." I then present multiple factors-economic, social, political, technological, and...

The disruption of the trade and investment activities of multinational enterprises as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the debate on the configuration of global value chains (GVCs) as well as the risks and challenges associated with offshoring. This article depicts how...

Purpose - This study empirically assessed the influence of foreign direct investment on the manufacturing sector growth in the Middle East and North African region using panel data of 18 countries covering the period of 1975-2017. Design/methodology/approach - The study employed Levin et al....

Effective competition in the Southern and East African regions requires independent rivals competing across borders and within domestic markets through innovation and effort, investment, product quality, and prices. To understand the constraints to more dynamic rivalry between firms within the...