Due to globalization, businesses that are headquartered in highly industrialized countries are more likely to seek out arrangements with countries that have a large potential labor force to which the company can pay low wages and with a government that is hoping for income and is likely to facilitate the foreign company setting up shop there. Another attractive feature for the multinational corporation is ample low-cost natural resources to power their factories or offices. The arrangements are often neocolonial and extractive. The multinationals will only establish branches if they are virtually certain of making a large return on their investment.
The politicians and elite businesspeople in the country where the branches are established benefit the most. The new employees get jobs, usually at higher wages than before, but the cost of living goes up proportionately more, so they are likely to incur debt. The new factories usually create pollution and, if the government levies a tax or other penalty to clean up the pollution, the multinational pulls up stakes and moves to another country and re-starts the cycle. Overall, the owners of the multinationals and a few corrupt politicians benefit the most. Consumers in the overdeveloped countries may benefit through lower prices on and greater choice of nonessential goods, and the majority of people in the economically disadvantaged nations remain impoverished.
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