摘要：We investigate to what extent the expansion of FDI and the internationalization of production can be
related to the recent phenomenon of more synchronized business cycles. We first focus on the
relationship between bilateral FDI positions and cross-country output correlations in the period 1982-
2001. We find that countries that have comparatively intensive FDI relations exhibit a greater degree
of output comovement, and that this positive association seems to become stronger over time. We then
present evidence that international rent sharing might be an important aspect of global economic
linkages. German, French, Belgian and Dutch labour markets are significantly affected by profits of
foreign-based multinationals, with employment being more sensitive than wages. By contrast, US and
UK labour market conditions do not, or hardly, react to changes in foreign profitability.
关键词：foreign direct investment, rent sharing, international linkages, spillovers
