ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some of the many and varied interpretations of the role played by multinational corporations (MNCs) in the Third World. It examines the role of multinational firms in North-South relations, discussing their activities in developing nations, their impacts as defined by studies, their alleged "costs" and "benefits" for developing countries, and the usefulness of codes of conduct for multinational corporations. MNCs are an overwhelmingly positive force for economic development and social change in host countries, a revolutionary force for modernity, productivity, and efficiency. The pattern of investment in developing nations has led some observers to suggest that there are several stages of investments in less developed countries (LDCs) by MNCs. While the total number of MNC subsidiaries in LDCs has increased, there has been a decline in their number relative to the number of MNC subsidiaries in developed nations.
