BEA collects two broad sets of data on U.S. direct investment abroad (USDIA): (1) Financial and operating data of U.S. parent companies and their foreign affiliates, and (2) balance of payments and direct investment position data./1/ This article presents the first set of data; the balance of payments and direct investment position data were published in the following articles in the July 1998 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS: Russell B. Scholl, "The International Investment Position of the United States in 1997"; Anthony J. DiLullo, "U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 1998"; and Sylvia E. Bargas, "Direct Investment Positions for 1997: Country and Industry Detail."
Financial and operating data.—The data on the overall operations of U.S. parent companies and their foreign affiliates are collected in BEA's annual and benchmark surveys of USDIA. The data cover balance sheets and income statements, employment and compensation of employees, research and development expenditures, sources of finance, and trade in goods. In addition, the gross product of U.S. parent companies and their majority-owned foreign affiliates is estimated from the data reported in these surveys.
Except in benchmark survey years, these data cover only nonbank U.S. multinational companies (MNC's) because U.S. MNC's in banking (1987 Standard Industrial Classifications 6011, 602, 602, 606, 6712, and 608) are exempt from reporting. All the financial and operating data are on a fiscal year basis. The data cover the entire operations of U.S. parent companies and their foreign affiliates, irrespective of the percentage of U.S.-parent ownership.
Balance of payments and direct investment position data.—These data are collected in the quarterly survey of USDIA. The data cover the cross-border transactions and positions between U.S. parents and their foreign affiliates, so these data focus on the parent's share, or interest, in the affiliate rather than on the affiliate's size or scale of operations. The major items included in the U.S. balance of payments are direct investment capital flows, direct investment income, royalties and license fees, and other services transactions between U.S. parents and their foreign affiliates.
Footnotes:
1. For a comprehensive discussion of these two sets of data, see Raymond J. Mataloni, Jr., "A Guide to BEA Statistics on U.S. Multinational Companies," SURVEY 75 (March 1995): 38–55. This guide is available on BEA's Web site; go to www.bea.doc.gov and click on International, Articles.
