Fukunari Kimura noted that the sample was about 200 firms, which is unproblematic when ordinary least square estimations are used. It is more difficult in the fixed-effect estimations, however, because then only firms that switch from no FDI to FDI, or from FDI to no FDI, remain in the sample. It seems that there are relatively few of these firms, which might also explain part of the low explanatory power of the fixed-effect estimations.
Iikka Korhonen discussed the economic significance of the results. He noted that such significance would be easier to interpret if the authors looked at other output variables such as productivity or market share.
Many participants were surprised by the fast growth in the number of Chinese returnees. A discussion emerged on what the main cause could be. Some suggested an increased trend of job protection in western economies, whereas others thought it was mainly due to...