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Anecdotal  evidence  for  several  developing  countries  suggests  that  foreign direct  investment  and  multinational enterprises (MNEs) may be an important conduit of  cultural  exchange.  Recent  work  in  economics  has  explored  the  role  that  MNEs  play  in  transferring  gender  equality  around  the  globe,  but  with  mixed  results.  

In this paper published by The World Economy, SIS Professors Austin Davis and Jennifer Poole consider the implications of increased foreign direct investment in Brazil on the transmission of high- quality gender policy and practice. In particular, they investigate whether workers with experience at multinational firms, now employed in domestic firms with no  foreign  influence,  help  to  change  gender-  specific  outcomes  at  their  Brazilian  companies.  

Davis and Poole next  ask  whether it matters from where the foreign direct invest-ment  originates—  that  is,  do  workers  with  experience  in  MNEs  with  headquarters  in  relatively  gender- equal  countries  transfer  best  practices  toward  women  better  than  do  workers  with  experience  in  MNEs  from  rela-tively  more  gender-  unequal  countries?  Increasing  the  share  of  workers  with  MNE  experience  modestly  improves  the  gender  earnings  gap  in  some  specifications.  Additionally,  workers  in  management  positions  offer  the  strongest  positive  contributions  to  closing  gender  gaps.  

However,  despite  the  many  theoretical  reasons  and  suggestive  empirical  evidence  from  previous  literature  to  expect  differential  implications  across  FDI- source countries, Davis and Poole's data fails to support this notion.

Read the full article .