Multinational corporations are key agents transforming the international political and economic landscape. Because they are highly visible organizations, with great power and mobility, they inspire both awe and fear. It is the purpose of this chapter to lay out, dispassionately, what these organizations are, where they come from, and where they go, and to assess the impact they have on countries and workers around the globe.
Multinational corporations are firms engaged in productive activities in several countries.
The vast majority originate in rich, developed countries and much of their foreign investment goes to other rich nations. Typically, they go overseas because they possess some special advantage they want to exploit fully and because there are benefits to locating their activities overseas. These benefits may result from avoiding barriers to imports to employing cheaper, foreign labor. While most political economists will agree with the above summary, there is far more debate as to the kinds of effects they have. Economic liberals see them as forces for positive change, spreading good things like technology and efficiency around the world.