Documents foreign investment 289 results

"This article analyses the prospects opened up in the social field by the negotiation on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union (EU) and United States (US), with reference to labour law and social sustainability. Trade integration between the two partners should lead to an inter-normative approach, incorporating Fundamental Social Rights into the Treaty. The author proposes the inclusion of a chapter dedicated to compliance with labour rights, containing a social clause inspired by Article 20 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in accordance with the negotiation directives. The social clause should include references to the ILO Core Labour Standards, individual and collective labour rights, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the regulation in a social perspective of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)."

"This paper investigates the impact of a large and territorially concentrated foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow on local labor market outcomes in the Czech Republic. A conditional difference-in-differences technique is employed for an estimation of the impact and block bootstrapping is used for computing consistent standard errors. The results indicate a positive and statistically as well as economically significant effect of a large investment project on the local unemployment outflow rate, which is driven mainly by increases in the aggregate unemployment exit hazard rates for unemployment durations smaller than nine months. Subsequent to the investment, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.7 percentage points and the employment rate increased by 3.7 percentage points in the host district. However, the impact on long-term unemployed was negligible as the exit hazard rates for durations longer than nine months remain unchanged. Moreover, a simple cost–benefit analysis suggests that investment incentives paid from a state budget would pay off only in a horizon of twelve years."

"The eastern enlargement of the European Union has prompted heated debates about social dumping related to labour standards and industrial relations. Capital mobility is seen as a crucial social dumping mechanism. The article uses time-series-cross-section data for the years 1999–2008 to analyse the determinants of capital flows (FDI) to European countries. It compares German and US FDI in the automotive and chemical industry. The article shows that FDI is influenced by labour standards (in particular protection against dismissals) and industrial relations factors and can be a social dumping mechanism. There are, however, differences according to the industries and the home countries of the investors. US companies try to avoid coordinated collective bargaining, while German companies consider government intervention in collective bargaining negative. The degree of unionization shows no effect on attractiveness for FDI."

"Purpose – The article aims to consider the relationship between foreign investors and trade unions in forging new labour relations and workplace institutions in Polish firms. The research focuses on the role of foreign investment and the agency of workers' organisations in the transformation of workplace relationsDesign/methodology/approach – An institutionalist approach is adopted which focuses on structural, institutional and political influences on workplace relations. The research is based on interviews with senior managers and trade unions in 15 foreign investment firms in Poland.Findings – There is a continued presence of trade unions in brownfield foreign investments and the establishment of new trade union branches in greenfield foreign investments. Labour relations in the majority of the case study companies were characterised by managers and workers as conflictual. Efforts by foreign investors to introduce their home or global practices were contested by trade unions. A continuation of previous legacies was evident in the importance placed by trade unions on communication, negotiation and establishing agreements with management.Research limitations/implications – The sample was comprised of transnational manufacturing companies and the conclusion cannot automatically be applied to other sectors where foreign investors have a strong presence.Practical implications – Insights into workplace relations in Poland are provided which will be of interest to foreign investors and European trade unions.Originality/value – Trade unions have been neglected in analysing new corporate structures in Poland and this article addresses their role in the workplace and their interrelationship with foreign investors."

"In this paper, we study the effects of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade on relative skilled labour demand in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Our estimates show significant heterogeneity in the FDI effect across the three economies: the effect is always significantly positive for Hungary, weakly negative for Poland, and negligible for the Czech Republic. As to trade, we find much more homogeneity in coefficient estimates, which are generally negative for all countries, although significant only in the case of Hungary."

"In its May 2005 the Group of Economic Policy Analysis (GEPA) discussed the issue of EU competitiveness and industrial location. At that meeting, a request was made for BEPA to prepare a report taking stock of the phenomena of delocalisation and outsourcing in particular and globalisation in general assessing their impact on the European economy and considering how potential challenges can be addressed.

This report - a draft of which was presented to the GEPA in September 2005 - is a response to this request. The report discusses EU trade patterns, reviews factors affecting industrial location decisions, reviews relevant evidence on globalisation and relocation and their impact in particular on employment and presents a set of policies aimed at improving the EU's competitiveness and its ability to address challenges emanating from these shocks."

"This paper extends the recent literature, e.g. Leahy and Montagna (Economic Journal 110: 80–92, 2000), in relation to the link between unionization, inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and country welfare in an oligopoly market structure. It is shown that the common results, that unions may reduce welfare under FDI while multinational enterprises (MNEs) will strictly trade off union wages at each location, are generally driven by the assumption relating to the scope of the bargaining with the union, namely the 'right to manage' (RTM). In particular, our extension to efficient bargaining (EB) demonstrates that union power may increase welfare in the presence of FDI, while the MNEs' choice between FDI and exports will include profit-sharing arbitrage with unions, in addition to the usual wage comparison considerations."