Davies, Ronald B.

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Davies, Ronald B.
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Davies, Ronald B.

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  • Publication
    The Glass Border: Gender and Exporting in Developing Countries
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2015-11)
    Davies, Ronald B. 
    ;
    Mazhikeyev, Arman 
    Using firm level data across 99 developing and transition economies, we explore the productivity differences between firms depending on their export status and the gender of their owners. We find that female-owned exporters have roughly half the exporter productivity premium of comparable male firms. This is particularly true for larger firms, suggesting that this difference may reflect greater difficulty in implementing learning by exporting for female-owned firms. Nevertheless, we also find evidence consistent with selection into exporting where female-owned firms face relatively higher export costs. Together, these point to significant discrimination barriers female firms face when exporting.
      478
  • Publication
    The Structure of Multinational Firms' International Activities
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2020-02-15)
    Davies, Ronald B. 
    ;
    Markusen, James R. 
    The structure of a multinational firm, that is how its affiliates relate to one another, is critical for understanding where multinationals locate, how policy affects them, and their resilience to localized shocks. Here, we review the two main structures – market-seeking horizontal and cost-difference exploiting vertical investment – prevalent in the literature. In addition, we use data (primarily from the US) to examine which of these structures seems to dominate the data. This includes a novel use of measures of global value chain positioning of a country's industries. In each case, the data suggests a dominant role for horizontal investment. We conclude with a discussion of the challenge that intangibles play in multinational data and point towards potentially fertile areas for future research.
      245
  • Publication
    The Impact of Special Economic Zones on Exporting Behavior
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2015-11)
    Davies, Ronald B. 
    ;
    Mazhikeyev, Arman 
    Using firm level data from Africa and Asia, we estimate the impact of being in a special economic zone (SEZ) on a firm’s probability of exporting, export intensity, and value of exports. At the extensive margin, we find that SEZ firms in open economies are 25% more likely to export than their non-SEZ counterparts, with a large negative effect in closed economies. At the intensive margin, we find that SEZs increase the value of exports, but only in countries with barriers to imports where the estimate increase is 3.6%. Thus, the estimated effect of introducing an SEZ can be meaningful, but is heavily contingent on the local economic environment.
      542
  • Publication
    The Impact of Special Economic Zones on Electricity Intensity of Firms
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2016-10)
    Davies, Ronald B. 
    ;
    Edwards, T. Huw 
    ;
    Mazhikeyev, Arman 
    In light of concerns over the environmental impact of Special Economic Zones located in developing countries, where environmental regulation is weak, we analyse the electricity intensity of firms in SEZs. We use firm level data from Africa and Asia, and we find that SEZ firms have higher electricity intensity as opposed to non-SEZ firms. If they also face higher fiscal, financial or environmental regulations, the electricity intensity of firms in SEZs increases by a greater rate as opposed to non-SEZ firms. As such, establishing SEZs may have significant environmental implications.
      367
  • Publication
    The Impact of Taxes on the Extensive and Intensive Margins of FDI
    (University College Dublin. School of Economics, 2016-08)
    Davies, Ronald B. 
    ;
    Siedschlag, Iulia 
    ;
    Studnicka, Zuzanna 
    The design of optimal tax policy, especially with respect to attracting FDI, hinges on whether taxes affect multinational firms at the extensive or the intensive margins. Nevertheless, the literature has not yet explored the simultaneous impact of taxation on FDI on these two margins. Using firm-level cross-border investments into Europe during 2004-2013, we do so with a Heckman two-step estimator, an approach which also allows us to endogenize the number of investments and include home country and parent firm characteristics. We find that taxes affect both margins, particularly for firms that invest only once, with 92 percent of tax-induced changes in aggregate inbound FDI driven by movements at the extensive margin. In addition, we find significant effects of both home country and parent firm characteristics, pointing towards the granularity of investment decisions.
      220