External Ownership of Industry and Government Policy: Some Further Evidence for Northern Ireland

Abstract

HARRIS R. I. D. (1990) External ownership of industry and government policy: some further evidence for Northern Ireland, Reg. Studies 25, 45–62. This paper considers the causes and consequences of external ownership and control of manufacturing in Northern Ireland. The province is an interesting example of a branch plant economy, since government regional policy has been particularly responsible for encouraging inward investment. The effect of external control on occupational structures, inter-firm linkages, technological development, and plant closures is assessed using various (and often unique) databases. The results obtained suggest that high levels of external ownership in Northern Ireland lead to proportionately more unskilled, as opposed to skilled, manual workers; linkages tend to be truncated leading to generally lower levels of integration into the local economy; RD and there appears to have been a higher propensity for closure if the plant w...