The Effects of Extensive and Intensive Margins of FDI on Domestic Employment: Microeconomic Evidence from Italy

Abstract

Abstract In this paper we verify whether enterprises that have started to produce abroad have reduced employment at home after the first foreign investment (extensive margin). Next, we assess whether changes in foreign employment induce changes in domestic employment for a sample of multinationals that have already established activities abroad (intensive margin). Using matching method and diff-in-diffs estimates, we find that two years after the first foreign investment domestic employment of investing firms is slightly higher than that of domestic enterprises, but mainly among those that have undertaken horizontal foreign direct investment. In multinationals that have already activated foreign operations we find a positive relationship between foreign and domestic employment. Our findings suggest that the skill composition of domestic workforce does not change neither at the extensive nor at the intensive margin of FDI.