From the colonial era to 1914, America was a debtor nation in international accounts--owing more to foreigners than foreigners owed to us. By 1914 it was the world's largest debtor nation. Mira Wilkins provides the first complete history of foreign investment in the United States during that period. The book shows why the United States was attractive to foreign investors and traces the changing role of foreign capital in the nation's development, covering both portfolio and direct investment. The immense new wave of foreign investment in the United States today, and our return to the status of a debtor nation--once again the world's largest debtor nation--makes this strong exposition far more than just historically interesting. Wilkins reviews foreign portfolio investments in government securities (federal, state, and local) and in corporate stocks and bonds, as well as foreign direct investments in land and real estate, manufacturing plants, and even such service-sector activities as accounting, insurance, banking, and mortgage lending. She finds that between 1776 and 1875, public-sector securities (principally federal and state securities) drew in the most long-term foreign investment, whereas from 1875 to 1914 the private sector was the main attraction. The construction of the American railroad system called on vast portfolio investments from abroad; there was also sizable direct investment in mining, cattle ranching, the oil industry, the chemical industry, flour production, and breweries, as well as the production of rayon, thread, and even submarines. In addition, there were foreign stakes in making automobile and electrical and nonelectrical machinery. America became the leading industrial country of the world at the very time when it was a debtor nation in world accounts.

Mira Wilkins, the foremost authority on foreign investment in the United States, continues her magisterial history in a work covering the critical years 1914-1945. Wilkins includes all long-term inward foreign investments, both portfolio (by individuals and institutions) and direct (by multinationals), across such enterprises as chemicals and pharmaceuticals, textiles, insurance, banks and mortgage providers, other service sector companies, and mining and oil industries. She traces the complex course of inward investments, presents the experiences of the investors, and examines the political and economic conditions, particularly the range of public policies, that affected foreign investments. She also offers valuable discussions on the intricate cross-investments of inward and outward involvements and the legal precedents that had long-term consequences on foreign investment. At the start of World War I, the United States was a debtor nation. By the end of World War II, it was a creditor nation with the strongest economy in the world. Integrating economic, business, technological, legal, and diplomatic history, this comprehensive study is essential to understanding the internationalization of the American economy, as well as broader global trends.

Americans have long been ambivalent toward foreign direct investment in the United States. Foreign multinational corporations may be a source of capital, technology, and jobs. But what are the implications for US workers, firms, communities, and consumers as the United States remains the most popular destination for foreign multinational investment? Theodore H. Moran and Lindsay Oldenski find that foreign multinational firms that invest in the United States are, alongside US-headquartered American multinationals, the most productive and highest-paying segment of the US economy. These firms conduct more research and development, provide more value added to US domestic inputs, and export more goods and services than other firms in the US economy. The superior technology and management techniques they employ spill over horizontally and vertically to improve the performance of local firms and workers. As the United States wants not only to expand employment but also create well-paying jobs that reverse the falling earnings that many US workers and middle class families have suffered in recent decades, it is more important than ever to enhance the United States as a destination for multinational investors

Examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, the national security concerns associated with this investment, and treatment of these concerns under US policy. This book asks whether the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) process can be improved and answers in the affirmative.Does foreign ownership of American businesses pose a threat to the United States (like the abortive attempt by CNOOC, a Chinese company, to purchase Unocal during the summer of 2005)? This important new book examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, the national security concerns associated with this investment, and treatment of these concerns under US policy. It asks whether the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) process can be improved and answers in the affirmative. The book starts by looking at the review process for foreign takeovers of US firms (including a historical review), looks at the economic and political impact on the United States of foreign direct investment, takes a detailed look at issues relating to FDI posed by the rise of China as an economic and geopolitical power and finally suggests some changes to the Exon-Florio process.

Restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. telecommunications firms have harmed the interests of American consumers and investors, argues J. Gregory Sidak in this convincing study. Sidak shows why these restrictions, originally intended to protect America from the perils of wireless telegraphy by foreign agents, should be repealed. Basing his analysis on legislative history, statutory and constitutional interpretation, and finance and trade theory, Sidak shows that these restrictions no longer serve their national security purpose (if they ever did). Instead they deny American consumers lower prices and more robust innovation, hamper access of American investors to foreign telecommunications markets, and unconstitutionally impinge on freedom of speech. Sidak's study encompasses the Telecommunications Act of 1996, recent global mergers such as British Telecom-MCI, and the 1997 World Trade Organization agreement to liberalize trade in telecommunications services.

A look at the amount of foreign investment in America examines the economic and political impact of foreign interests that control U.S. bank assets real estate and legislation that hurts American businesses while favoring foreigners.

Examine the changing nature of foreign investments in Latin America!Generously enhanced with easy-to-understand charts, tables, and graphs, this book covers the ins and outs of foreign direct investment in the established and emerging markets of Latin America. In addition to an overview of direct investment for the entire Latin American region in the 1990s, this valuable book examines specific countries’ experiences with FDI in that decade. These include Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.Spending on environmental projects is on the rise, and Latin American nations are at the forefront of this financial whirlwind in the developing world. Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America: Its Changing Nature at the Turn of the Century examines the difficulties of assessing environmental investments. It analyzes the role of international capital in Latin-American environmental issues and discusses the major players, such as the World Bank, in international capital and the environment.Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America presents case studies that illustrate: the history of FDI in Argentina and the impact of the privatization of state-owned enterprises in 1991-1993 the similarities and differences between 1990s FDI in Mexico and Chile the ways that modern investment in Brazil differs in purpose from investment there in previous economic eras how Peru addressed its balance-of-payments crisis in a time when its domestic financial markets were thin and there existed few sources of financing besides banks how Paraguay’s historical lack of infrastructure has hampered FDI efforts there Ecuador’s financial and balance-of-payments crisis-its currency is in free-fall and its financial institutions are on the brink of collapse . . . and much more!Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America packs all this valuable information into a single user-friendly source. As we move into the new millennium, no student, educator, or investor interested in this quickly evolving, volatile market should be without it!