Knowledge Spillovers and the Timing of Foreign Entry

Abstract

We analyze how foreign presence affects local ?firm productivity. We relax the standard implicit assumption that spillovers are immediate and permanent. We ?find that spillovers are dynamic. Foreign entry of a majority foreign owned fi?rm has a short run negative effect on the productivity of local competitors, which is more than offset by a longer run positive effect. The entry of minority foreign owned fi?rms has an immediate, though short-lived, positive effect on local suppliers. The entry of majority foreign owned fi?rms also improves the productivity of local suppliers, but the effect materializes later and lasts longer.FDI, spillovers, dynamics, timing