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This chapter broadens current agency approaches by exploring CG in international joint ventures (IJVs) as investments that entail more pronounced risks than usual and ‘multiple agency’ problems. A typology of those risks is offered, and appropriate CG structures are made contingent to the relevance of different types of risk, under the assumption of partners' preference for risk reduction. The argument, substantiated by various examples of IJV in China and Brazil, leads to the identification of four main governance configurations, and draws out the implications of these solutions for economic development.

Stresses the embeddedness of the individual firm in the network of firms with which it necessarily has ties; this ‘markets‐as‐networks’ approach interprets the generic governance structure for production systems to be multidimensional exchange relationships between actors, typically firms. A key notion here is one of coordination and interdependence in these long‐term—but by no means static—relationships, but in turn, it is argued, there are dynamic, indirect, and direct interactions between such relationships, and in a fundamental way, the relationships determine the constraints and opportunities under which the firm operates. The markets‐as‐networks approach is thus designed to incorporate both change and stability. The issue of different types of overlap between networks is singled out for scrutiny, especially as it relates to the international context. Applying these constructs, the author finds the approach to be especially well suited to improve understanding of the dynamic interaction between the international firm, and the international markets and industries.

International trade and investment across countries, both developed and developing economies, are a major source of economic growth by improving allocative efficiency of resources and rapid flow of advanced technologies. Several developing and socialist economies that pursued inward orientation since the last forty years started to open up their economies for international trade and investment. Countries that had initial endowment of industrial, technological endowments, and basic institutions have able to take advantage of this phenomenon. India fits this bill. It acquired basic industrial, technological, and capitalist institutions. The reforms operate on the basis of these endowments. The objective of the book is to trace out the underlying theoretical and empirical factors that demonstrate the effect of the reforms It explains the reason for dividing the book into two part: (1) International Trade Behaviour: the Pre-reform Era and (2) International Trade and Investment Behaviour: The Post-reform era.

Chapter one begins by offering theory and evidence for the central role of firms in the political economy of trade. The chapter draws on recent innovations in administrative data to describe the firm level dynamics undergirding contemporary globalization, and how these dynamics support regulatory protection. Interdependence theory suggests that the connections across borders formed by firms would drive governments to cooperate. Generalizing the example of regulatory protection, this chapter lays out a theory of entangled mercantilism in which government have interests in restricting trade to shift profits toward those firms that have local affiliates, all at the expense of those outside their borders.

This chapter looks at the trends in the regulation of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC countries). The rapid rise of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from developing countries has been examined throughout this book. The BRIC countries' engagement in outward FDI seems to follow a standardised pattern. The enhanced ability of firms from BRIC countries to compete with international firms had led to ani increase in outward FDI. The increase in FDI from the BRICs reveals a developing consensus between the traditional capital exporting and capital importing countries. The MAIS represents an instrument of FDI liberalisation. The proposed MAIS treaty captivates the spirit of socially conscious investment while remaining true to the principles of liberalisation that underpinned bilateral investment treaties (BITs) as well as the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

This chapter reflects on contemporary logics of technical knowledge production, replication, and transmission questioning the operating of international design firms in autocratic countries. It does so in order to argue that today the technocratic logics of policy making have a global profile, because they prosper and diffuse through the transfer of technical expertise across political and cultural contexts. If one looks at planning cultures, rational choice and the hope in all-seeing and science-based decisions were and still are relevant, both in western countries and, especially, in countries that are undergoing strong industrialisation or modernisation pushes. Of course, these are general conceptions and orientations, but now local processes of development are more complicated in practice than in theory. The chapter therefore shows the influential conceptions in practice to understand the way in which planning works in real-world processes, in rapidly transforming cities as well as in the slower western countries.

The differences in productivity growth between the United States and Europe since the early 1990s have been explained by differences in the speed of adopting the new information and communication technologies and in making full use of the new technologies. The firm this chapter is concerned with is a large multinational firm in the pharmaceutical industry, the mother company of which is located in Denmark. Internationally, this firm faces strong competition from three or four other producers, so the company (AB) has been quite successful. Thus, the company is considered to be one of the big players in the market for the specific medicine it produces. The international market for the drug AB is producing is one of the fastest growing in the whole pharmaceutical industry. In Denmark AB is not only known for its successful performance over several years but is also widely considered to be among the best employers in the country because of its labor-friendly policies. Furthermore, AB is known for its corporate social responsibility and its focus on environmental issues in particular. But also equal opportunity and concerns for work–life balance are important elements of AB's profile. When AB opened a production plant in a new country, it to a large extent transferred the same company values to the new location. At the same time, AB had to account for differences in the economic environment its plants are operating.