Do investments by multinational corporations in less developed countries enhance or hinder economic development in those countries? This volume presents a re-evaulation of twenty-seven of the most important studies which were carried out to answer this question. The authors attempt to resolve the disparate findings which show that investment promotes short-run growth but in the long run retards growth. They also present a careful empirical analysis of the intervening political, social, and economic mechanisms through which the effects of investment are transmitted. The volume will clarify much speculation which has taken place about the world-systems perspective and will point the way toward more research which can resolve disputed areas of this theory.