The Multilateral Investment System and Multinational Enterprises

The book provides a detailed analysis of the evolution of the international investment framework in the second half of the twentieth century-the issues, the organizations, and current policy challenges.

Autorentext
Thomas L. Brewer is Associate Professor, School of Business, Georgetown University. Stephen Young is Professor, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde.

Klappentext

Brewer and Young examine the future of the world economy and the key economic and political forces that will shape it. Considering the implications of historically important changes in the world economy in recent years, including the expansion of the international investments of multinational corporations and the new role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the authors present numerous examples of how countries have changed their international trade and investment policies, and examine how these changes are affecting firms' strategies and operations worldwide. This book explains the importance to international investment, as well as trade and technology transfer, of the many agreements being implemented by the WTO, and discusses the roles of other international agencies such as the UN, World Bank, OECD, EU, and NAFTA.

Zusammenfassung
The multinational enterprise has been one of the foremost economic, political, and social influences in the world economy for many decades. As its role and influence have grown, so has the regime of institutions and rules concerning international investment-from the proposal to create the ITO in the 1940s to the establishment of the WTO in the 1990s. Investment issues are now important items on the agenda of international economic policy-making, international business-government relations, and public debate. The book provides a detailed analysis of the evolution of the international investment framework in the second half of the twentieth century-the issues, the organizations, and current policy challenges. For instance, the book includes chapters on issues concerning the relationship of investment policy to trade and technology, competition, and economic development. In addition to a clear and well-informed description of the role of several organizations, including ITO, GATT, the OECD, and the WTO, the authors-one American and one British-present numerous examples, cases, and appendices to give context and 'real' world examples to the book. They also discuss many key regional arrangements, such as NAFTA and the EU, as well as bilateral investment agreements. This up-to-date and accessible book will be vital reading for academics, students, executives, and policy-makers concerned to get to grips with the evolving international investment system.

Inhalt
Introduction; PART I: CONTEXT; 1. Multinational Enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment Policy: Theory and Issues; 2. Foreign Direct Investment and the World Economy: A Historical Overview; PART II: EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM; 3. Inauguration: The Demise of the ITO and the Rise of Bilateral Treaties; 4. Control: Codes and the Obligations of Multinational Enterprises (Late 1960s - Early 1980s); 5. Liberalization: National and Regional Policy Changes and the Creation of the WTO (Early 1980s - Mid 1990s); 6. Expansion: Multilateral, Regional, and Sectoral Developments in the Late 1990s; PART III: POLICY PROBLEMS; 7. Policy Interactions: Regional and Multilateral Arrangements; 8. Policy Linkages: Investment, Trade, and Technology Transfer; 9. Policy Linkages: Competition Policy; 10. Policy Dilemmas: Developing Countries; PART IV: IMPLICATIONS; 11. Current and Future Challenges