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In the literature there is substantial evidence that a plant is more likely to be closed down if it is owned by a firm with other plants or is owned by a multinational enterprise (MNE). But does ownership or multi-plant status matter for which plants are closed? Using Japanese data we study plant closure by multi-plant MNEs and non-MNEs. We show that both organisational forms raise the probability of plant exit and that plants that are relatively small and capital unintensive relative to the rest of the firm are significantly more likely to exit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the impacts of exchange rate volatility on the location choice by Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) and their intra-firm trade. We use affiliate-level data for Japanese MNCs for 1995, 1998 and 2001. We found that high exchange rate volatility discourages the establishment of an affiliate by MNCs. Moreover, the high exchange rate volatility causes the shift from inter-firm to intra-firm transactions. These findings imply the importance of maintaining a stable exchange rate environment in order for MNCs to expand their production and distribution networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]