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on International Activities of Firms |
| By: | Wided Mattoussi (University of TunisAuthor-Name: Younes Ben Zaied; EDC Paris Business School, Paris); Omar Al Tabaa (Leeds University Business School); Foued Mattoussi (University of Jendouba) |
| Abstract: | Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can inject technology and knowledge into host- country economies, potentially influencing their firms' R&D investments and export capacities; as a result, these firms may engage in R&D (exports), potentially shaping the interaction between the two strategies. This paper investigates whether and when these strategies are complementary and reinforce each other, or whether they are substitutes, and should not be jointly pursued, as well as how combining the two strategies may lead to synergies positively affecting growth. The analysis was conducted on four clusters of firms using panel data of Tunisian manufacturing firms over the period 2016-2018. The first and second clusters include any exporting firms (differentiating exporters from non-exporters) without and with foreign participation, respectively. The third and fourth clusters are made up of fully exporting firms without and with foreign involvement, respectively. The findings suggest that R&D and exports positively reinforce each other in a dynamic virtuous circle to boost exports for firms with no foreign participation, whereas substitutability effects emerge for R&D activity, primarily for firms with foreign participation. The findings are also consistent with complementarities between the two activities in boosting the growth of fully exporting firms with foreign ownership.Length: 55 |
| Date: | 2024–12–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1770 |
| By: | Makoto Hasegawa (Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University); Takafumi Kawakubo (Osaka School of International Public Policy, the University of Osaka); Takafumi Suzuki (Faculty of Business, Aichi Shukutoku University); Masayoshi Hayashi (Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | Using Japanese firm-level customs data from 2014 to 2019, we investigate profit shifting through transfer pricing by Japanese multinational corporations. We find that Japanese firms reduce related-party export prices relative to arm's-length prices as the tax differentials between Japan and destination countries widen, indicating tax-motivated transfer pricing. The responsiveness of related-party prices to these taxdifferentials is, on average, smaller than that reported in previous studies but varies depending on transaction characteristics. Specifically, transfer mispricing is more pronounced in transactions involving larger parent-affiliate pairs and products that are exported less frequently. We also examine the impact of the country-by-country reporting (CbCR) system, introduced in Japan in 2016, and find no evidence that it reduced transfer mispricing by Japanese multinationals subject to CbCR. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2026cf1266 |
| By: | Alejandra Martinez |
| Abstract: | I study how firms adjust to temporary disruptions in international trade relationships organized through relational contracts. I exploit an extreme, plausibly exogenous weather shock during the 2010-11 La Ni\~na season that restricted Colombian flower exporters' access to cargo terminals. Using transaction-level data from the Colombian-U.S. flower trade, I show that importers with less-exposed supplier portfolios are less likely to terminate disrupted relationships, instead tolerating shipment delays. In contrast, firms facing greater exposure experience higher partner turnover and are more likely to exit the market, with exit accounting for a substantial share of relationship separations. These findings demonstrate that idiosyncratic shocks to buyer-seller relationships can propagate into persistent changes in firms' trading portfolios. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2601.14150 |
| By: | Eiichi TOMIURA; Hiroyuki KUWAHATA |
| Abstract: | Firms in advanced economies trade both goods and services across national borders. Offshoring is another important channel of modern globalization. However, these relatively invisible globalization modes are not well captured in official statistics. We also note that the globalization trend has recently been altered by the tensions originating with the rise of China. We conducted a unique survey of Japanese firms to collect information of these relatively new and invisible aspects of international economic relations with China. We combine our survey results with firm-level data derived from official statistics to explore the characteristics of firms that are active within these interactions with China. We find that firms that are involved in services trade with China or firms engaged in offshoring with China tend to be more productive than firms that are not engaged in these activities. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:26009 |
| By: | Yusuf Emre Akgunduz (Sabanci University); Ugur Aytun (Dumlupinar University); Seyit Mumin Cilasun (TED University & ERF) |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the surge in industrial robot usage has been prominently driven by labor costs. However, the impact of cost-related shocks on firms’ decisions to integrate robots has received limited attention. This study investigates how manufacturing firms in Turkey reacted to a sudden 33.5% increase in the minimum wage in 2016 regarding their robot importation decisions. Utilizing administrative employer-employee data, firm-level trade, and balance sheet data, and employing a difference-in-differences approach with a continuous treatment, we find that the minimum wage shock overall does not significantly affect robot adoption. Yet, this effect varies by firm size; medium-sized firms show a positive and significant propensity to adopt robots, which is even more pronounced in large firms. Quantitatively, a one-point increase in the share of minimum wage employment in total employment leads to a 0.4% increase in the probability of importing robots for medium firms and a 2.7% increase for large firms. These findings are consistent across both extensive and intensive margins of robot adoption. Firms with a high intensity of blue-collar and routine task workers are particularly more likely to import robot in response to a minimum wage shock. Moreover, competitive pressures in the industries also spur firms towards robot adoption |
| Date: | 2024–12–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1768 |