Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
CHAPTER 1 GLOBALIZATION AND THE MULTINATIONAL FIRM
ANSWERS & SOLUTIONS TO END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
QUESTIONS
1. Why is it important to study international financial management?
Answer: We are now living in a world where all the major economic functions, such as
2. How is international financial management different from domestic financial management?
Answer: There are three major dimensions that set apart international finance from domestic
finance. They are:
3. Discuss the major trends that have prevailed in international business during the last two
decades.
Answer: The 1990s brought a rapid integration of international capital and financial markets.
Impetus for globalized financial markets initially came from the governments of major countries
Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
currency, the euro, that effectively became the second global currency after the U.S. dollar. In
the last few years, however, economic nationalism has been gaining some popularity, as
exemplified by the Brexit decision of the United Kingdom and the so-called “America First”
policies of the Trump Administration. To the extent that economic nationalism is a populist
response to the global financial crisis and Great Recession, it may subside as the world
economy continues to recover.
4. How is a country’s economic well-being enhanced through free international trade in goods
and services?
Answer: According to David Ricardo, with free international trade, it is mutually beneficial for
two countries to each specialize in the production of the goods that it can produce relatively
5. What considerations might limit the extent to which the theory of comparative advantage is
realistic?
Answer: The theory of comparative advantage was originally advanced by the nineteenth
century economist David Ricardo as an explanation for why nations trade with one another.
6. What are multinational corporations (MNCs) and what economic roles do they play?
Answer: A multinational corporation (MNC) can be defined as a business firm incorporated in
one country that has production and sales operations in many other countries. Indeed, some
7. Ross Perot, a former Presidential candidate of the Reform Party, which was a third political
party in the United States, had strongly objected to the creation of the North American Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), which nonetheless was inaugurated in 1994. Perot feared the loss of
American jobs to Mexico where it is much cheaper to hire workers. What are the merits and
demerits of Perot’s position on NAFTA? Considering the recent economic developments in
North America, how would you assess Perot’s position on NAFTA?
8. In 1995, a working group of French chief executive officers was set up by the Confederation
of French Industry (CNPF) and the French Association of Private Companies (AFEP) to study
the French corporate governance structure. The group reported the following, among other
things: “The board of directors should not simply aim at maximizing share values as in the U.K.
and the U.S. Rather, its goal should be to serve the company, whose interests should be clearly
distinguished from those of its shareholders, employees, creditors, suppliers and clients but still
equated with their general common interest, which is to safeguard the prosperity and continuity
of the company”. Evaluate the above recommendation of the working group.
Answer: The recommendations of the French working group clearly show that shareholder
Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
wealth maximization is not a universally accepted goal of corporate management, especially
outside the United States and possibly a few other Anglo-Saxon countries including the United
Kingdom and Canada. To some extent, this may reflect the fact that share ownership is not wide
spread in most other countries. In France, about 15% of households own shares.
9. Emphasizing the importance of voluntary compliance, as opposed to enforcement, in the
aftermath of such corporate scandals as those involving Enron and WorldCom, U.S. President
George W. Bush stated that while tougher laws might help, “ultimately, the ethics of American
business depends on the conscience of America’s business leaders.” Describe your view on
this statement.
Answer: There can be different answers to this question. If business leaders always behave
with a high ethical standard, many of the corporate scandals we have seen lately might not have
10. Suppose you are interested in investing in shares of Samsung Electronics of Korea, which is
a world leader in mobile phones, TVs, and home appliances. But before you make investment
decision, you would like to learn about the company. Visit the website of Yahoo
(http://finance.yahoo.com) and collect information about Samsung Electronics, including the
recent stock price history and analysts’ views of the company. Discuss what you learn about the
company. Also discuss how the instantaneous access to information via internet would affect
the nature and workings of financial markets.
Answer: As students might have learned from visiting the website, information is readily
MINI CASE: NIKE AND SWEATSHOP LABOR
Nike, a company headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, is a major force in the sports
footwear and fashion industry, with annual sales exceeding $ 30 billions, more than half of
which now come from outside the United States. The company was co-founded in 1964 by Phil
Knight, a CPA at Price Waterhouse, and Bill Bowerman, college track coach, each investing $
500 to start. The company, initially called Blue Ribbon Sports, changed its name to Nike in 1971
and adopted the “Swoosh” logo—recognizable around the world—originally designed by a
college student for $35. Nike became highly successful in designing and marketing mass-
appealing products such as the Air Jordan, the best selling athletic shoe of all time.
Nike has no production facilities in the United States. Rather, the company manufactures
athletic shoes and garments in such Asian countries as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam using
subcontractors, and sells the products in the U.S. and international markets. In each of those
Asian countries where Nike has production facilities, the rates of unemployment and under-
employment are relatively high. The wage rate is very low in those countries by U.S.
standards—the hourly wage rate in the manufacturing sector is less than $ 2 in each of those
countries, compared with about $ 35 in the United States. In addition, workers in those countries
often operate in poor and unhealthy environments and their rights are not particularly well
protected. Understandably, host countries are eager to attract foreign investments like Nike’s to
develop their economies and raise the living standards of their citizens. Recently, however, Nike
came under worldwide criticism for its practice of hiring workers for such a low rate of pay—
“next to nothing” in the words of critics—and overlooking poor working conditions in host
countries.
Initially, Nike denied the sweatshop charges and lashed out at critics. But later, the
company began monitoring the labor practice at its overseas factories and grading the factories
in order to improve labor standards. Nike also agreed to random factory inspections by
disinterested parties.
Discussion points
1. Do you think the criticism of Nike is fair, considering that the host countries are in dire
needs of creating jobs?
2. What do you think Nike’s executives might have done differently to prevent the
sensitive charges of sweatshop labor in overseas factories?
3. Do firms need to consider the so-called corporate social responsibilities in making
investment decisions?
Suggested Solution to Nike and Sweatshop Labor
Obviously, Nike’s investments in such Asian countries as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam
were motivated to take advantage of low labor costs in those countries. While Nike was
criticized for the poor working conditions for its workers, the company has recognized the
problem and has substantially improved the working environments recently. Although Nike’s
workers get paid very low wages by the Western standard, they probably are making
substantially more than their local compatriots who are either under- or unemployed. While
APPENDIX 1A. GAIN FROM TRADE: THE THEORY OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
PROBLEMS
1. Country C can produce seven pounds of food or four yards of textiles per unit of input.
Compute the opportunity cost of producing food instead of textiles. Similarly, compute the
opportunity cost of producing textiles instead of food.
2. Consider the no-trade input/output situation presented in the following table for Countries X
and Y. Assuming that free trade is allowed, develop a scenario that will benefit the citizens of
both countries.
INPUT/OUTPUT WITHOUT TRADE
_______________________________________________________________________
Country
X Y Total
________________________________________________________________________
I. Units of Input (000,000)
_______________________ ______________________________
Food 70 60
Textiles 40 30
________________________________________________________________________
II. Output per Unit of Input (lbs or yards)
____________________________________________________
Food 17 5
Textiles 5 2
________________________________________________________________________
III. Total Output (lbs or yards) (000,000)
____________________________________________________
Food 1,190 300 1,490
Textiles 200 60 260
________________________________________________________________________
IV. Consumption (lbs or yards) (000,000)
___________________________________________________
Food 1,190 300 1,490
Textiles 200 60 260
________________________________________________________________________
Solution:
Examination of the no-trade input/output table indicates that Country X has an absolute
advantage in the production of food and textiles. Country X can “trade off” one unit of
production needed to produce 17 pounds of food for five yards of textiles. Thus, a yard of
textiles has an opportunity cost of 17/5 = 3.40 pounds of food, or a pound of food has an
the citizens of both countries is enhanced through trade. Suppose that Country X shifts
20,000,000 units from the production of textiles to the production of food where it has a
comparative advantage and that Country Y shifts 60,000,000 units from the production of food
INPUT/OUTPUT WITH FREE TRADE
__________________________________________________________________________
Country
X Y Total
__________________________________________________________________________
I. Units of Input (000,000)
__________________________________________________________________________
III. Total Output (lbs or yards) (000,000)
Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
_____________________________________________________
Food 1,200 330 1,530
Textiles 210 70 280
__________________________________________________________________________
