{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T08:02:09Z","timestamp":1790755329376,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":75,"publisher":"The Econometric Society","issue":"6","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["ECTA"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper studies the role of private sector companies in the development of local amenities. We use evidence from one of the largest multinationals of the 20th century: the United Fruit Company (UFCo). The firm was given a large land concession in Costa Rica\u2014one of the so\u2010called \u201cBanana Republics\u201d\u2014from 1899 to 1984. Using administrative census data with census\u2010block geo\u2010references from 1973 to 2011, we implement a geographic regression discontinuity design that exploits a land assignment that is orthogonal to our outcomes of interest. We find that the firm had a positive and persistent effect on living standards. Company documents explain that a key concern at the time was to attract and maintain a sizable workforce, which induced the firm to invest heavily in local amenities\u2014like the development of education and health infrastructure\u2014that can account for our result. Consistent with this mechanism, we show, empirically and through a proposed model, that the firm's investment efforts increase with worker mobility.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3982\/ecta19514","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,14]],"date-time":"2022-11-14T08:47:18Z","timestamp":1668415638000},"page":"2685-2721","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":45,"title":["Multinationals, Monopsony, and Local Development: Evidence From the United Fruit Company"],"prefix":"10.3982","volume":"90","author":[{"given":"Esteban","family":"M\u00e9ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Central Bank of Costa Rica"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Van Patten","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Yale University"},{"name":"NBER"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2359","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022]]},"reference":[{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"555","DOI":"10.3982\/ECTA8963","volume":"79","author":"Acemoglu","year":"2011","journal-title":"Econometrica"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"605","DOI":"10.1257\/aer.89.3.605","volume":"89","author":"Aitken","year":"1999","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0003","series-title":"IEA Conference Volume","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1057\/9781137335173_12","volume-title":"The Industrial Policy Revolution I: The Role of Government Beyond Ideology","author":"Alfaro","year":"2013"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alfaro, Laura, Areendam Chanda, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, and Selin Sayek (2003): \u201cFDI Spillovers, Financial Markets, and Economic Development,\u201d IMF Working Papers, 2003\/186, International Monetary Fund.","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.880280"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1495","DOI":"10.1093\/qje\/qjac006","volume":"137","author":"Alfaro-Ure\u00f1a","year":"2022","journal-title":"The Quarterly Journal of Economics"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0006","volume-title":"National Archives of Costa Rica (Archivo Nacional de Costa Rica).","year":"1904"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0007","volume-title":"National Archives of Costa Rica (Archivo Nacional de Costa Rica)","year":"1940"},{"key":"ecta200505-bib-0008","volume-title":"The Economics of Contemporary Latin America. 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