The mobility of workers from multinational enterprises (MNEs) to other local firms is increasingly recognized as an important externality mechanism. However, MNEs have strong incentives to curb this mobility to prevent leakage of firm-specific assets. This research note investigates the likelihood and nature of such mobility patterns. Using longitudinal, matched employer–employee data for Sweden with detailed information on individuals, establishments, and firms, we find that workers employed in MNEs are more likely to leave their employers compared to similar workers employed in non-MNEs with similar characteristics. This effect is particularly strong for high-wage workers and managers. While we find that workers who leave MNEs are more likely to move to other MNEs, our results identify significant mobility toward start-ups, thus leading to important industrial dynamics in the host country. We discuss the implications of these results for research on the externalities from MNEs, and international business theory.

工人从跨国企业 (MNEs) 到其他本地公司的流动越来越被认为是一种重要的外部性机制。然而，跨国公司有强烈的动机来抑制这种流动性，以防止公司特定资产的泄漏。本研究报告调查了这种流动模式的可能性和性质。使用瑞典的纵向匹配的雇主-雇员数据以及有关个人、机构和公司的详细信息，我们发现，与在具有相似特征的非跨国公司中雇用的类似工人相比，在跨国公司中雇用的工人更有可能离开雇主。这种影响对于高薪工人和管理人员来说尤其强烈。虽然我们发现离开跨国公司的员工更有可能转移到其他跨国公司，但我们的结果表明，他们向初创企业流动性很大，从而导致东道国的重要工业动态。我们讨论了这些结果对跨国公司外部性研究和国际商业理论的影响。