Professor: Luis Ballesteros
Department: International Business
Title: Deglobalization, economic disintegration and firm performance
Description: Multinationalism helps firms access suppliers and consumers
spatially dispersed. It can increase labor productivity (Martin et al. 2017),
administrative capacity (Acemoglu et al. 2007), knowledge spillovers (Alcacer
and Chung 2007, Javorcik 2004), innovation (Knott and Turner 2019), and
foster economies of scale (Alfaro et al. 2018) and competitive advantages
(Berry 2014). A line of research has also associated multinationalism with
risk diversification. Hence, multinational firms cope with shocks better than
domestic firms such as natural disasters (Oetzel and Oh 2014) or financial
crises (Aghion et al. 2016).
The general discourse in which these arguments have flourished and been
tested is the continuous globalization of markets and production. In recent
years, however, antiglobalization processes have resulted in actual or
potential threats to international trade and investment. One can argue that
multinational firms may be more vulnerable than domestic firms to suffer the
consequences of economic disintegration (Boehm 2014). Theoretically, this is
unclear because multinational firms may adjust easier to the closeness of
national markets via reallocation of resources and a higher ability to move
operations to a different country (Alfaro and Chen 2012, Mata and Woerter
2013).
We seek to solve this debate by focusing on the case of Brexit. The Brexit
Referendum in 2016 is not a direct shock to economic integration, but it is a
rise in environmental uncertainty whose effect on the Global Economic Policy
Uncertainty (Baker et al. 2016, Davis 2016)is higher than any other systemic
shock in recent history (see graph). Uncertainty shocks can drop investment,
labor demand, productivity, and growth (Baker and Bloom 2013).
Duties: 1. Manage research projects by controlling deadlines, monitoring
resources and goal progress, and supervising team members
2. Being a liaison between the principal investigators and other members of
the research team
3. Assist in completing administrative tasks related with the research
projects
4. Conducting library and electronic database research
5. Produce visual and written research reports for internal and external
distribution
6. Participate in designated research team meetings
Time commitment: 10 or more hours per week (average)
Credit hour option*: 3
Number of openings: 3
Submit Cover Letter/Resume to: ballesteros@gwu.edu
*If credit is sought, all registration deadlines and requirements must be
met. Students selected to be research assistants should contact Brianna
Crayton (bcrayton@gwu.edu) whether they intend to pursue credit or not.
