Globalization and multinational companies: What are the questions, and how well are we doing in answering them?

Issue title: Special issue on Globalistaion

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Landefeld, J. Steven | Kozlow, Ralph

Affiliations: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, BE-1 Washington, DC 20230. Tel.: +202 6069600; Fax: +202 6065311; E-mail: Steve.Landefeld@bea.gov; Ralph.Kozlow@bea.gov

Abstract: Globalization has placed new demands on statistical agencies to provide the information necessary to inform policy in today's increasingly interdependent world economy. This paper looks at the US experience and uses it as a benchmark for identifying the key questions that are being asked about the role and influence of multinational companies and the types of statistics that are required to answer those questions. The paper goes on to assess whether the US statistics that are now available are adequate to help us answer those questions. Finally, it identifies steps that might be considered to address data weaknesses and to help policy makers and other data users – both in the United States and abroad – better answer the important questions that they are asking about the impact of foreign direct investment.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2003-20206

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 111-120, 2003