Americans have long been ambivalent toward foreign direct investment in the United States. Foreign multinational corporations may be a source of capital, technology, and jobs. But what are the implications for US workers, firms, communities, and consumers as the United States remains the most popular destination for foreign multinational investment? Theodore H. Moran and Lindsay Oldenski find that foreign multinational firms that invest in the United States are, alongside US-headquartered American multinationals, the most productive and highest-paying segment of the US economy. These firms conduct more research and development, provide more value added to US domestic inputs, and export more goods and services than other firms in the US economy. The superior technology and management techniques they employ spill over horizontally and vertically to improve the performance of local firms and workers. As the United States wants not only to expand employment but also create well-paying jobs that reverse the falling earnings that many US workers and middle class families have suffered in recent decades, it is more important than ever to enhance the United States as a destination for multinational investors

Examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, the national security concerns associated with this investment, and treatment of these concerns under US policy. This book asks whether the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) process can be improved and answers in the affirmative.Does foreign ownership of American businesses pose a threat to the United States (like the abortive attempt by CNOOC, a Chinese company, to purchase Unocal during the summer of 2005)? This important new book examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, the national security concerns associated with this investment, and treatment of these concerns under US policy. It asks whether the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) process can be improved and answers in the affirmative. The book starts by looking at the review process for foreign takeovers of US firms (including a historical review), looks at the economic and political impact on the United States of foreign direct investment, takes a detailed look at issues relating to FDI posed by the rise of China as an economic and geopolitical power and finally suggests some changes to the Exon-Florio process.

"The authors successfully debunk the myths circulated by the critics of foreign investment. Their research is careful, their writing clear, and their analysis incisive." -Susan Liebeler, The Wall Street Journal.

China's increasing openness to foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed importantly to its exceptional growth performance. This paper examines China's experience with FDI and identifies some lessons for other countries. Most of the factors explaining China's success have also been important in attracting FDI to other countries: market size, labor costs, quality of infrastructure, and government policies. FDI has contributed to higher investment and productivity growth, and has created jobs and a dynamic export sector. China's success, however, did not come without some pitfalls: an increasingly complex tax incentive system and growing regional income disparities. Accession to the WTO should broaden China's "opening up" policies and continue FDI's contributions to China's economy in the future.

This essential book analyzes the regulatory and operational challenges that foreign direct investors face in the United States, as well as the ways in which these challenges can be overcome. Firms from emerging markets, particularly China, are increasingly investing in the US the world's most important and sophisticated national market. This path-breaking book addresses why investors need to be familiar with the issues they are facing. The topics explored include the national and international regulatory framework governing FDI in the US which has changed considerably in light of recent laws and regulations; how to navigate the various groups that influence policies in Washington D.C. (especially as far as China is concerned); and dealing with the liability of foreignness that every foreign investor faces and needs to address successfully. Written by leading experts in their respective fields, academics and others interested in the various challenges associated with investing in the US and particularly the foreign direct investment relationship between China and the US will find this book invaluable. Executives of multinational enterprises wanting to learn more about the challenges involved should also not be without this important book.

It is not in the US interest to adopt tax and regulatory policies that would discourage global engagement by US multinational corporations (MNCs). Research presented in this book shows that the expansion of foreign affiliates of US MNCs is positively associated with more production, greater employment, higher exports, and more research and development (R&D) in the United States. These findings suggest that less investment abroad by US firms would weaken—not strengthen—the US economy. This analysis by no means implies that there are only winners and no losers from outward investment. Changing patterns of MNC investment, like changing patterns of technology and production more generally, contribute to job losses and dislocations for some workers and to new opportunities for others. To benefit the US economy and US workers most broadly, the United States will want to search for ways to strengthen the appeal of the United States as a base for the operations of international firms. High among the recommendations to accomplish this, the United States should adopt a territorial tax system, like the great majority of developed countries.

'For readers looking for a comprehensive rigorously quantitative analysis of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, there is no better work than Chunlai Chen's Foreign Direct Investment in China. In the book he analyzes a wide range of issues ranging from the contribution of FDI to China's growth to why FDI is concentrated in certain Chinese provinces and not others. Readers with an economics or statistical background will get the most out of the book, but it is accessible and informative for many others.' Dwight H. Perkins, Harvard University, US Foreign Direct Investment in China is one of the most comprehensive studies of FDI in China and provides a remarkable background of information on the evolution of China's FDI policies over the last 30 years. Chunlai Chen presents a compelling and thorough analysis of the leading theoretical explanations of FDI and a series of rigorous empirical examinations of the location determinants of FDI. He examines a comprehensive analysis of the differences in investment and production behaviour between the major investors as well as an in-depth investigation of the impacts of FDI on China's economy. This book is a highly focused and unique work of theoretical analysis and empirical study of FDI in China. It is a valuable and important reference for scholars and students who are interested in FDI in general and in Chinese economic studies in particular.