Arguably, the two most important forces affecting the world economy in the closing decades of the 20th century were globalization and privatization. Here, privatization refers to the retreat of the state from the economic arena, while globalization refers to the worldwide spread of efficient market-based systems and the consequent growth of multinational firms. The twin forces of privatization and globalization have proceeded in parallel, but have nonetheless had significant interactions with one another. (i) the spectacular collapse of the state-run socialist economies; (ii) the transfer of...

This is a collection of the major writings to have appeared on foreign direct investment (FDI) and technological change since 1966. Its coverage includes: the early analysis of FDI and technology; and the theoretical foundations of the analysis of technological change in multinational firms.

This authoritative collection reprints the key articles in the field of locational clustering, and the relationship between local clusters and the activities of multinational firms. It covers both the principle theoretical and statistical explanations of the clustering of firms in common locations, and includes a selection of important empirical studies of this phenomenon. Special attention is given to the role played by knowledge spillovers, and notably the geographical dimension of the relationship between firms and universities. Further articles demonstrate how, contrary to some popular...

This authoritative edited volume offers, for the first time, a selection of critical perspectives on globalization. These critiques incorporate work from radical and feminist scholars opposing the new liberal ideology underlying globalization. It also sheds new light on the different types of costs and risks of globalization in terms of environment, health hazards, international terrorism and cultural homogenization. The book is intended for a wide audience and will be of interest to students and researchers in economics, politics, international relations, geography and development studies,...

The purpose of this volume is to bring together the leading scholarly papers about how globalization has impacted the role of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In fact, globalization has affected SMEs in two major ways. The first has been to facilitate the transnational activities of SMEs. Transnational activities, ranging from exports to foreign direct investment to participating in global value chains have become easier as a result of globalization. The second impact of globalization has been to shift the source of competitiveness towards knowledge-based economic activity, which...