Seminar on Multinationals and inequality

Khadija van der Straaten (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University) will present the paper “Understanding the role of the Multinational Enterprise in addressing inequality”, co-authored Rajneesh Narula (Henley Business School, University of Reading) and Elisa Giuliani (REMARC, University of Pisa).

Abstract

The potential of the MNE to impact inequality, whether positively or negatively, was a preoccupation of the pioneering IB  scholars, instigating an admirably broad literature to understand how FDI addressed the the nature of inequality between countries. Gradually, however, the discourse shifted to a predominantly positive view of FDI as a driver of global economic convergence. In recent years, scholarly attention has shifted to the role of the MNE in affecting within-country inequality, although the focus in IB has remained primarily on the inequality of outcomes, with an emphasis on income inequalities. In this perspectives paper, we argue that IB needs to consider how MNEs affect the inequality of opportunities, the primary underlying cause of increasing economic inequality. We discuss MNEs and their influence on the inequality of opportunity taking examples from the micro-, meso- and macro-level perspectives, and propose a research agenda on the impact of MNEs on their broader social context.

Keywords: multinational enterprises (MNEs); globalization; inclusive development; inequality.

The seminar is part of the University of Pisa PRA PROJECT 2020-52 Shaky capitalism: How business and finance respond to global threats.

The seminar is open to all interested. No need to pre-register. Use the link below to enter the “Virtual room”.

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Phone Conference ID: 817 960 500#

Starting Time

14:00 CET

March 24, 2022

Ending Time

15:30 CET

March 24, 2022

Address

Online

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