The challenge of collecting empirical evidence on multinational enterprises (MNEs) has meant that we have not always had the full picture of key issues in trade and industrial policy such as the role of MNEs in global value chains (GVCs) and how firms combine trade and investment in their cross-border activities. A better understanding of MNEs would allow for more informed debates about the role of these companies in the economy and in society more broadly.
To address the data deficit, the OECD has developed a comprehensive new database on MNE activities across countries and industries. By linking to TiVA and the OECD Inter-country Inter-Industry Input-Output (ICIO) database, the Analytical Activities of MNEs (AMNE) database for the first time allows for the analysis of MNE activities in value-added terms.
This database distinguishes between three types of firms: foreign affiliates (firms with at least 50% foreign ownership), domestic MNEs (domestic firms with foreign affiliates) and domestic firms not involved in international investment. To understand the breakdown of firm types we can take the Japanese automotive industry as an example. From the perspective of Japan, a majority Japanese-owned car manufacturer with affiliates in other countries would be classified as a domestic MNE; the majority owned affiliate of a French car manufacturer in Japan would be a foreign affiliate; and a majority Japanese-owned parts supplier with no foreign affiliates would fall into the category of domestic firms not involved in international investment.
The Analytical AMNE database covers 41 industries and 76 countries plus a rest of the world region over the period 2000-2019. It has three main components: i) the bilateral output matrix; ii) the output, value added and trade dataset; iii) a series of ICIO tables split according to ownership. The bilateral output matrix breaks down global gross output by country, industry and country where the controlling entity is based. The output, value added and trade dataset separates industry-level gross output, value-added, exports and imports of intermediate inputs between foreign affiliates and domestic entities. Finally, the split ICIO tables describe inter-industry transactions with an additional distinction between domestic-owned and foreign-owned firms. The three components of the Analytical AMNE database are fully consistent with each other, as well as with the underlying OECD ICIO tables.
The Analytical AMNE database was constructed on the basis of the OECD AMNE database which contains the official data on AMNE collected and published by national statistical offices (34 OECD countries, over 50 industries, since 1985). In order to estimate the missing information across countries and industries, additional national sources have been used and various statistical methodologies applied. It is important to note that analytical papers up to mid-2019 were based on a previous version of the database.
