Rising political skepticism on the benefits of global economic integration has increased public scrutiny of the foreign activities of domestic firms in virtually all advanced economies. Decisions to invest in new activities abroad are seen by some commentators as potentially detrimental to domestic employment. We contribute to this debate by scrutinizing the relationship between outward ‘greenfield’ Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and local employment levels. The analysis, at the scale of USA Economic Areas, finds a generally positive link between outward investment and local employment, but with an important range of differences across regions and sectors. Less developed regions benefit the most from the positive returns of outward FDI, and, particularly, from outward FDI if it is undertaken by firms in high-tech manufacturing and services industries. But there is a downside, in the form of increasing intra-regional inequalities between high-skilled and low-skilled workers in these areas.

中文翻译：

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外国投资是否会损害国内创造就业机会？美国对外直接投资和就业的地理分布

对全球经济一体化的好处越来越多的政治怀疑增加了公众对几乎所有发达经济体的国内公司的海外活动的审查。一些评论员认为，投资于海外新活动的决定可能不利于国内就业。我们通过仔细研究外部“绿地”外国直接投资 (FDI) 与当地就业水平之间的关系来为这场辩论做出贡献。以美国经济区为规模的分析发现，对外投资与当地就业之间普遍存在积极联系，但不同地区和部门之间存在很大差异。欠发达地区从对外直接投资的正回报中受益最多，尤其是，如果由高科技制造业和服务业的公司承担，则来自对外直接投资。但也有不利的一面，即这些地区的高技能和低技能工人之间的区域内不平等加剧。