Kirjahaku

The integrating thesis of this study is the inevitability of heterogeneity in FDI and MNCs and, accordingly, the imperative of disaggregation. Nuance is too pervasive to permit many valid generalizations. This leads to a hardly earth-shattering, but surprisingly infrequently-offered conclusion that FDI, i.e. that any individual foreign-owned subsidiaries can, on balance, have a positive, negative, neutral (and/or irrelevant), or indeterminate effect. Foreign-owned subsidiaries are seldom if ever identical and need to be considered on a case by case basis according to circumstances. Hence, the phrase "it depends" is the mantra of this study. Disaggregation is an essential diagnostic tool to identify and measure the different levels of quality of MNCs subsidiaries. Most policy advocates and researchers, whatever their ideological persuasion, have failed to acknowledge the seemingly obvious: different kinds of businesses engage in different kinds of corporate activity and diverse results. The result of different input is different output. A nearly limitless number of characteristics are associated with three main variables: the nature and the effects of tens of thousands of individual foreign subsidiaries plus conditions in countries where they are located. MNCs are better described as the middlemen of change since they themselves are largely the effect of even larger phenomena, namely technological changes that restructure the international economic order. An opening exists for an even-handed, "no attitude" analysis that incorporates a methodology and viewpoint different from the thousands of books, articles, book chapters, and speeches written about MNCs and FDI. A large majority have failed to explicitly recognize how important perceptions, value judgments, ideology, and, sometimes, self-interest are in shaping discussions by both advocates and critics. People tend to view the FDI/MNC phenomena through differently configured lenses that have been individually molded by the unique mix of values and experiences that shapes our thinking. Evaluations of FDI and MNCs are prime examples of relatively oversimplified perceptions defining "truth". This book argues that a different route to understanding is needed and overdue: acknowledge the diversity and heterogeneity of phenomena that are lumped under very broad rubrics. MNCs are different by nature and therefore different in their respective mix of costs and benefits.

Closing a critical gap in the literature examining the strained relationship between the U.S. and Japan, this book synthesizes the economic, political, historical, and cultural factors that have led these two nations, both practitioners of capitalism, along quite different paths in search of different goals. Taking an objective, multidisciplinary approach, the author argues that there is no single explanation for Japan's domestic economic or foreign trade successes. Rather, his analysis points to a systemic mismatch that has been misdiagnosed and treated with inadequate corrective measures. This systemic mismatch in the corporate strategy, economic policies, and attitudes of the U.S. and Japan created and is perpetuating three decades of bilateral economic frictions and disequilibria.As long as both the U.S. and Japan deal more with symptoms than causes, bilateral problems will persist. This book's unique analysis will encourage a better understanding on both sides of the Pacific of what has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen if corporate executives and policymakers in the two countries do not better realize the extent of their differences and adopt better corrective measures.

As the globalization of economic production reshapes domestic economic activity and redefines the substance of international politics, the importance of international economic policy is becoming more widely appreciated. This book is a revised and updated edition of the definitive study of the decision-making process in all sectors—trade, finance, development, and energy—of U.S. international economic policy. Students and practitioners of economics and political science will find it invaluable in understanding how process affects substance in some of the most far-reaching policies being made in Washington.Straddling two of the nation's highest priorities—economic prosperity and national security—international economic policy necessitates continuous trade-offs from conflicting perspectives, making organization and procedure inherently significant determinants of a critically important policy. Opening with an explanation of the complex nature of the policy and its importance in political and economic terms, the book then examines the identities, responsibilities, attitudes, constituents, and institutional cultures of the executive branch, Congress, and interest groups involved in the formulation and conduct of policy. After considering the hardware of policymaking, the volume examines the major theories and decision-making models. It then focuses on the delicate relationship between the administration and Congress, illustrated by three case studies. In conclusion, the work assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the current policymaking process and offers recommendations for improvement.

As the globalization of economic production reshapes domestic economic activity and redefines the substance of international politics, the importance of international economic policy is becoming more widely appreciated. This book is a revised and updated edition of the definitive study of the decision-making process in all sectors—trade, finance, development, and energy—of U.S. international economic policy. Students and practitioners of economics and political science will find it invaluable in understanding how process affects substance in some of the most far-reaching policies being made in Washington. Straddling two of the nation's highest priorities—economic prosperity and national security—international economic policy necessitates continuous trade-offs from conflicting perspectives, making organization and procedure inherently significant determinants of a critically important policy. Opening with an explanation of the complex nature of the policy and its importance in political and economic terms, the book then examines the identities, responsibilities, attitudes, constituents, and institutional cultures of the executive branch, Congress, and interest groups involved in the formulation and conduct of policy. After considering the hardware of policymaking, the volume examines the major theories and decision-making models. It then focuses on the delicate relationship between the administration and Congress, illustrated by three case studies. In conclusion, the work assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the current policymaking process and offers recommendations for improvement.

This unique text integrates for the first time the three critical aspects of U.S. foreign trade policy formulation and implementation: economics, politics, and laws. In a comprehensive and nonjudgmental manner, a political scientist, an economist, and a legal scholar combine efforts to present a well-rounded view of the nature and impact of trade p

This book seeks to educate all interested parties about the subtleties and the multiple layers of reality in U.S. trade policy. It covers all the major fundamentals and principal contemporary issues of the policy at a level of detail appropriate to a one-semester university or law school course.