FDI in Post-Production Services and Product Market Competition

Abstract

Post-production services, such as sales, distribution, and maintenance, comprise a crucial element of business activity. We explore an international duopoly model in which a foreign .rm has the option of outsourcing post-production services to its domestic rival or providing those services by establishing its own facilities through FDI. We demonstrate that trade liberalization in goods may hurt domestic consumers and lower world welfare, and that the negative welfare impacts are turned into positive ones if service FDI is also liberalized. This .nding yields important policy implications, given the reality that the progress of liberalization in service sectors is still limited.post-production services, rade liberalization, FDI, outsourcing, international oligopoly