Inward investment by Japanese manufacturing multinationals has come to have a profound influence on the economies of the United Kingdom and the United States since the late 1970s. This influence notwithstanding, what factors guided the original locational choice of these companies? This international study analyses the determinants of the investment location decision at the market, national and subnational levels employing an original political economy framework and four detailed case studies.

It not only analyses the larger issues of protectionism, national incentive policies, globalization and interfirm rivalry, but also asks whether and how subnational actors were able to influence the specific subnational choice of investing multinationals. The conclusion that subnational as well as national proactivity can affect the location of mobile investment holds important insights for any nation or subnational region serious about inward investment and economic development.

This book will be of particular interest to academics working in the fields of international political economy, economics, local government and Japanese studies. It will also be of practical relevance to public officials involved in the promotion of inward investment at any level of government and in a wide variety of countries.