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National Autonomy and Economic Development: Critical Perspectives on Multinational Corporations in Poor Countries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 May 2009
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Whether or not less developed countries can better realize their economic aspirations by strengthening their ties with developed countries will remain in dispute as long as there are rich and poor countries. Dispute will be particularly sharp while the main instruments of such interconnection are identifiable institutions like the multinational corporation. It is easier to map the growth of the multinational corporation than to assess its consequences, but the need for an assessment cannot be ignored. As this essay's subtitle suggests, my main concern is consideration of arguments which are critical of the role of the multinational corporation.
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References
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44 United States Department of Commerce, Brazilian Income Tax Legislation (Overseas Business Reports, No. 67–26) (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967)Google Scholar.
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51 The “miniature replica” idea was introduced by Edward, H. English in his examination of the Canadian situation, Industrial Structure in Canada's International Competitive Position: A Study of the Factors Affecting Economies of Scale and Specialization in Canadian Manufacturing (Montreal: Canadian Trade Committee, Private Planning Association of Canada, 1964)Google Scholar. For a broader analysis of the problems of industrial organization in poor countries see Merhav, Meir, Technological Dependence, Monopoly, and Growth (New York: Pergamon Press, 1969)Google Scholar.
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83 See, for example, Smythe, Hugh H. and Smythe, Mabel M., The New Nigerian Elite (Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1960)Google Scholar. Goldthorpe, J. E. notes that Mackerere University graduates in East Africa often appeared as “indigenous expatriates” when they ventured into rural areas in An African Elite: Mackerere College Students, 1922–1960 (East African Studies, No. 17) (Nairobi: Oxford University Press [for the East African Institute of Social Research], 1965)Google Scholar.
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58 For one example of the demise of local entrepreneurs see Galeano, Eduardo, “The Denationalization of Brazilian Industry,” Monthly Review, 11 1969 (Vol. 21, No. 7), pp. 11–30CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For more general discussion of the predominance of foreign capital in the case of Brazil see Quciroz, Mauricio Vinhas de, “Os Grupos Multibillionarios,” Revista do Institute de Ciencias Sociais, 01–11 1965 (Vol. 2, No. 1), pp. 44–80Google Scholar. Michael Kidron's work on India is illustrative in this regard; see his book, Foreign Investment in India (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965)Google Scholar. An interesting case study may be found in the analysis of one of the largest Latin American firms (Industrias Matarazzo, Reunidas F.) in “The Business Globe: Matarazzo—Not One Company but 300,” Fortune, 07 1960 (Vol. 62, No. 1), PP. 71–72. 77Google Scholar.
59 For a good discussion of the latter distinction see “After the Arusha Declaration,” in Nyererc, pp. 385–409.
60 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) represents such an attempt, albeit, not an entirely successful one; see Tanzer, pp. 70–74.
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