FDI of German companies during globalization and deglobalization

Gerhard Kling, Joerg Baten, Kirsten Labuske

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Based on micro-level data of German companies from 1873 to 1927, we identified horizontal and vertical FDI applying a Knowledge-Capital model and analyzed individual FDI decisions. Our KC model revealed that market-driven FDI predominated; however, wage gaps and differences in human capital stimulated cost-driven FDI flows, which accounted for up to 10% of total FDI. On an individual level, large companies with high profitability conducted more FDI. Higher tariffs after WWI enhanced FDI, as companies could circumvent trade barriers—but declining openness reduced FDI. In spite of disintegration after WWI, the propensity to invest increased due to higher market concentration and firm specific investment patterns—albeit industry agglomeration effects were of minor importance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)247-270
Number of pages24
JournalOpen Economies Review
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2011

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
We thank the anonymous referee for her or his comments that helped us to improve our paper significantly. We thank Olivier Accominotti, Marc Flandreau, Michael Clemens, Mar Rubio for providing crucial data on protection, and participants of the Economic History Society Annual Conference 2006, the Second Conference on German Cliometrics 2006, seminars at the Universities of Barcelona and Tuebingen, the Tuebingen economic history research group for their comments on earlier versions.

Keywords

  • FDI
  • Globalization
  • protection
  • Germany

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'FDI of German companies during globalization and deglobalization'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this