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Call for Papers

 

Review of World Economics

 

“Firm Heterogeneity, Trade and FDI:

Bridging international economics and international business”

 

 

Guest editors:

 

Sjoerd Beugelsdijk (University of Groningen, NL)

Bruce Blonigen (University of Oregon, USA)

Alan Rugman (Henley Business School, UK)

Roger Smeets (University of Amsterdam, NL)

 

Despite their shared historical roots, international economics (IE) and international business (IB) have developed as two distinct fields of study. While economists directed their efforts at formalizing the workings of international trade and investment at the macroeconomic level, business scholars attempted to open the black box of the (multinational) enterprise, relying more on conceptual narratives than mathematical tools.

            With the advent of new trade theory (Helpman and Krugman, 1987), the firm was re-introduced as the object of interest in international economics. The recent advancement of the heterogeneous firm in formal models of (“new new”) international trade (Melitz, 2003) has further spawned an unprecedented amount of theoretical and empirical microeconomic research in international economics (Greenaway and Kneller, 2007). Hence, after fifty years of co-existence, the potential for spillovers between IE and IB has increased significantly.

            The purpose of this special issue is to explore ways in which empirical research in IE and IB can inform and reinforce each other. In many cases, mutual unawareness of existing themes, models, methodologies and jargon, makes effective integration of both streams difficult. In an era of globalization with such a crucial role for multinationals, and the need for scholars to explain contemporary global developments, a more effective model of knowledge development is key. We believe that increased understanding in and of both IE and IB will advance our knowledge of firm-level trade and investment behavior beyond the levels that can be achieved if these streams keep developing in relative isolation.

            This special issue seeks to integrate insights from IB and IE. A number of (non-exhaustive) illustrative examples of topics where IE and IB either share unexploited overlap and synergies, or could benefit from each other’s conceptual and methodological insights are the following:

 

 

 

Planning and submission procedure

 

The deadline for submission is August 31, 2012. Submissions can be sent to Roger Smeets ([log in to unmask]).

 

References:

Greenaway, D. and Kneller, R. 2007. Firm heterogeneity, exporting, and Foreign Direct Investment. The Economic Journal 117(517): F134-F161.

 

Grossman, G.M. and Rossi-Hansberg, E. 2008. Trading tasks: A simple theory of offshoring. American Economic Review 98(5): 1978-1997.

 

Helpman, E. and Krugman, P.R. 1987. Market Structure and Foreign Trade. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

 

Helpman, E., Melitz, M. and Rubinstein, Y. 2008. Estimating trade flows: Trading partners and trading volumes. Quarterly Journal of Economics 123(2): 441-487.

 

Hennart, J.F. 2009. Down with MNE centric theories! Market entry and expansion as the bundling of MNE and local assets, Journal of International Business Studies 40(9): 1432-1454.

 

Hymer, S.H. 1976. The international operations of national firms: A study of foreign direct investment. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

 

Johanson, J. and Vahlne, J.E. 2009. The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership, Journal of International Business Studies 40(9): 1411-1431.

 

Melitz, M. 2003. The impact of trade on intra-industry reallocations and aggregate industry productivity. Econometrica 71(6): 1695-1725.

 

Meyer, K.E. 2004. Perspectives on multinational enterprises in emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies 35(4): 259-276.

 

Zaheer, S., and Mosakowski, E. 1997. The dynamics of the liability of foreignness: a global study of survival in financial services, Strategic Management Journal 18(6): 439-464.

 

 

 
--
Sjoerd Beugelsdijk
Professor, Chair International Business
 
Department Global Economics and Management 
University of Groningen 
The Netherlands 
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