Why Multinationals Help Reduce Poverty

Abstract

Over the years, multinationals have attracted both friends and enemies. Foes have argued that they exert adverse influences on the well-being of poor countries in general, and their poorer citizens in particular. Friends have argued that in their wake, multinational corporations bestow on host economies a variety of benefits primarily, but not exclusively, via spillover effects of various sorts. This paper provides a detailed reappraisal of the issues involved and argues that if their adverse effects can be removed by appropriate domestic policies, multinationals can have a potentially major role to play in the alleviation of poverty.