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Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Security Lecture Series
Nathan Jensen
"Firm Responses to Politics"
Friday, May 25, 2007
3:30 p.m.
Mershon Center for International Security Studies
1501 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43201
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Nathan Jensen is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and a Fellow at the Center in Political Economy at Washington University in St. Louis.
His research interests include international political economy (international finance, international economic institutions), comparative political economy (political business cycles, economic voting, economic reform, federalism) and international relations (civil conflict, international relations theory).
Jensen is author of Nation-States and the Multinational Corporation: A Political Economy of Foreign Direct Investment (Princeton University Press, 2006), as well as numerous articles in such journals as International Organizations, American Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Conflict Resolution.
He has been Global Fellow at the International Institute and Visiting Scholar at the International Studies and Overseas Programs, both at the University of California-Los Angeles. Jensen has a bachelor's in finance from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale.
Abstract
In this lecture, Jensen argues that multinational corporations tailor their operations to minimize political risks and maximize political influence when investing in emerging markets.
Drawing on a confidential data set covering all U.S. foreign direct investments abroad, he finds that U.S. multinationals restrict the size of their operations in authoritarian regimes relative to democratic regimes.
Jensen also finds preliminary evidence that firms attempt to increase their political influence by aligning their operations with the preferences of incumbent governments. Specifically, firms increase the number of workers they employ when left-of-center governments come to power.
Download a copy of Jensen's paper "Firm-Level Responses to Politics" (pdf)
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