Multinational Corporations, FDI and the East Asian Economic Integration

The phenomenon of fast-growing business activities of multinational corporations around the world has generated much interest in understanding its implications for the development of the world economy as well as the relationships among national economies. By analyzing the world's top 2000 firms published by Forbes Magazine (the Forbes Global 2000), this article first investigates the contents and structural evolution of these giant multinational firms and their relationship with national foreign direct investment (FDI). We then adopt the method of clustering analysis to investigate FDI and trade networks within and among regions through which the development of regional economic integration are revealed.