Regional income disparities, monopoly and finance

The overall rise in inequality in the U.S. since 1980 has been matched by a rise in inequality between places; local and regional development policies aimed at reversing this polarization have seen limited success. We propose an explanation for the spatial polarization of prosperity and the failure of the policies to remedy it. Our explanation is based on the interaction of monopoly power, agglomeration economies in technology clusters, and the power of financial sector actors over non-financial firms – all phenomena characteristic of the post-1980 economy. We review evidence for each of these elements and propose some causal relationships between them, as an outline of an ongoing research program

Economic Performance of U.S. Multinational Agribusinesses: Foreign Direct Investment and Firm Strategy

This study borrows the theoretical framework developed by Lee and Habte-Giorgis (2004) to empirically assess the sequential relationships between firm strategic factors, foreign direct investment (FDI) activity, and financial performance for a sample of U.S.-based multinational agribusinesses. After using hierarchical regressions and path analysis, this study finds a positive direct effect of FDI on performance, a complementary effect between FDI and firm strategic factors (positive and significant interaction terms) on performance, and a positive effect of FDI on performance given a threshold for firm size. Specifically, it provides insights about the direct effect of FDI on performance, as well as about the joint effect of firm size and FDI, marketing intensity and FDI, and capital intensity and FDI on performance. These findings provide evidence that FDI activity is an important factor for U.S. agribusiness financial strength. [JEL classifications: F230, Q130, L250]. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc