FOREIGN DIRECT-INVESTMENT, EXCHANGE-RATE VARIABILITY AND DEMAND UNCERTAINTY

Variable real exchange rates influence the location of production facilities chosen by a multinational: With risk averse investors and fixed productive factors, parent companies should not be indifferent to production location, even with identical expected costs of production across countries. If a nonnegative correlation exists between export demand and exchange rate shocks, the multinational optimally locates some productive capacity abroad. The capacity share abroad increases as exchange rate volatility rises and becomes more correlated with export demand shocks. These results are confirmed using quarterly U.S. bilateral foreign direct investment flows with Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom.