2020/01/15 by Matej Bajgar, Matěj Bajgar, Beata Javorcik +1 · 65 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Engineering · Social Sciences · #Business #Downstream (manufacturing) #Economics #Engineering #Foreign direct investment #Global trade and economics #Industrial organization #International Business and FDI #International Development and Aid #International economics #International trade #Marketing #Multinational corporation #Product (mathematics) #Quality (philosophy) #Romanian #Unit (ring theory) #Upstream (networking)
paper · doi:10.1093/ej/ueaa003
published in The Economic Journal 130(628), 937-955 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2020/01/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Abstract This article argues that inflows of foreign direct investment can facilitate export upgrading in host countries. Using customs data merged with firm-level information for 2005–11, it shows a positive relationship between the quality of products exported by Romanian firms and the presence of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the upstream (input-supplying) industries. Export quality is also positively related to MNE presence in the downstream (input-sourcing) industries and the same industry, but these relationships are less robust. These conclusions hold both when the product quality is proxied with unit values and when it is estimated following the approach of Khandelwal et al. (2013).