To test these hypotheses, we examined how crosscountry
differences in the technology imports of US
affiliates in 33 host countries (calculated from data on
the affiliates’ payments for royalties and license fees
and their imports of capital equipment from the United
States in1982) were related to proxies for technology
transfer requirements, local competition, and labor
skills in the host countries. The results consistently
showed that the technology imports of MNC affiliates
increased with our proxies for the competitive pressure
in the host economy. The technology transfers
that were reflected by data on payments of royalties
and license fees were negatively related to performance
requirements, but the requirements did not
have any clear effect on imports of technologies
embodied in machinery and equipment. Moreover, the
host countries’ levels of education seemed to have a
positive impact on the affiliates’ payments of royalties
and license fees, but no significant effect on the affiliates’
imports of capital equipment.