Are transnational corporations (TNCs) and foreign direct investment beneficial or harmful to societies around the world? Since the birth of the United Nations more than 60 years ago, these questions have been major issues of interest and involvement for UN institutions. What have been the key ideas generated by the UN about TNCs and their relations with nation-states? How have these ideas evolved and what has been their impact? This book examines the history of UN engagement with TNCs, including the creation of the UN Commission and Centre on Transnational Corporations in 1974, the failed efforts of these bodies to craft a code of conduct to temper the revealed abuses of TNCs, and, with the advent of globalization in the 1980s, the evolution of a more cooperative relationship between TNCs and developing countries, resulting in the 1999 Global Compact.

This title, first published in 1993, was one of the first books to analyse the forces behind the increasing globalization of professional business services. Based on contributions from leading authorities in international business, both academics and members of organizations such as GATT and UNCTAD, it looks at the opportunities for growth, environmental and regulatory problems, and the major problems of managing the international expansion of professional firms. Crucially, it discusses such issues from the point of view of managers of such organizations, and the role of governments in negotiating multinational agreements. This highly international and timely reissue will be of interest to students of international business, as well as managers of professional business firms and policy makers involved in international trade issues.

In recent years economic activity has become increasingly globalized. One of the main instruments behind this process is the multinational enterprise. In The Globalization of Business, first published in 1993, John Dunning explores the latest issues in the world of international business and looks ahead at the remaining years of this century identifying the likely challenges of the future. What are the challenges posed by the technological, political and economic developments of the 1990s for international business? What are the implications of the opening up of new territories such as in Central and Eastern Europe and parts of China? To what extent are the competitive advantages of nation states increasingly coming to depend on the presence of multinational activity? What are the implications of the globalization of markets and production for the domestic economic policies of governments? This collection of essays will be vital reading to students of international business.

As the title suggests, this is an ambitious book. Broad in scope and rich in detail, it examines the rise and fall of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) in nearly two dozen industries, from electronics and automobile manufacturing to real estate and construction services, in almost every region of the world over the past half century or more. The result is an encyclopedic volume (459 pages with index). . . useful for East Asian business scholars or those interested in the overseas activities of Japanese firms. Farrell has written. . . a sweeping survey of Japanese FDI. Walter Hatch, Journal of Japanese Studies Roger Farrell has written a weighty compendium on Japanese direct foreign investment. At over 450 pages it covers the full array of Japan s diverse industries and sectors, from fisheries and lumber to steel and automobiles, and in the service industries from banking to telecommunications. Apart from the breadth of coverage, this work is even more remarkable considering that Japanese multinationals and their overseas investments have been largely under the radar of social scientists of late, especially so since the ascent of China in the early years of the present decade. David W. Edgington, Growth and Change Enhanced with indexes, appendixes, and editorial opinions on the subject, Japanese Investment in the World Economy is a complete and comprehensive scholarly reference, ideal for college and community library economics collections. Midwest Book Review The Economics Shelf This book examines Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the world economy over more than five decades. It provides a unique focus on the internationalisation experience of selected industries, such as forestry, textiles, electronics, motor vehicles, steel and services as well as case studies of individual firms. Roger Farrell considers the theoretical explanations for Japanese FDI and particular motivations which have been an ongoing rationale for FDI, including: energy and resource security the theme of retaining market access the relocation of manufacturing to retain international competitiveness withdrawal after the bubble economy the new phase of investment in the 2000s. Japanese Investment in the World Economy is distinctive in that it examines overseas investment by firms in the primary, manufacturing and services sectors over the period in which the Japanese economy became the second largest in the world. The book provides a succinct overview of Japanese FDI of interest to professionals and students of business, economics, international relations, politics and Japanese culture.