Claudio Fassio (University of Lund) (webinar)

“Leaving the Multinational. The mobility of human capital from multinational entreprises to other types of firms”

Abstract: Mobility of workers from multinational enterprises (MNEs) is increasingly recognized as an important externality mechanism. The key argument is that employees in MNEs accumulate specific experiences and skills that are valuable and transferable to other firms. But MNE also devote significant efforts to retain their workers in order to protect their firm-specific advantages (FSA).  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 employer, compared to similar workers employed in non-MNEs with similar characteristics. Our evidence reveals that this effect in mobility is particularly strong for skilled workers with high-wages and in advanced occupations, like managers and professionals. Furthermore, while skilled workers that leave MNEs are quite likely to move to other MNEs, the propensity to move to start-ups is also quite significant. These results suggest that MNEs add to the circulation of skilled workers, thus providing a key potential contribution to local industrial dynamism.