U.S. Firms and East Asian Development in the 1990s

Traditionally, most of U.S. firms’ overseas manufacturing activity has been in developed countries. From 1950 to 1990, about 25 percent of this activity was in developing countries. Then, in the 1990s, a shift toward developing countries occurred. The size of the shift depends on the measure used to judge it. The developing-country shares of worldwide U.S. affiliate activity increased during this decade by amounts ranging from almost half to two thirds for affiliate sales and employee compensation and by around 20 percent for employment and gross product (Table 3.1).