Intra-firm trade and the developing countries

Helleiner, Gerald K.

Abstract

A remarkably high proportion of international trade is now conducted by transnational corporations within their global planning systems. Intra-firm trade calls traditional analyses of international trading relationships into serious question. It also raises major new policy problems for nation-states. The developing countries are the most likely to experience difficulties in coming to terms with these new problems. This book is the first to call attention to the dimensions of intra-firm trade in general and the implications of intra-firm trade for the developing countries in particular. It draws upon previously unused US government data sources to demonstrate that this type of trade is already more important than most analysts realise. The data on US imports of primary and manufactured products from parties related by ownership to the importers is presented and assessed. Particularly challenging are the hypotheses presented with respect to the emerging structure of developed country trade barriers, and the changing structure of developing country exports. The book will provoke debate and stimulate new research in the fields of international economics, international business, and development economics. Intra-firm trade and the developing countries / Gerald K. Helleiner