Chris Jones
Professor of International Business Aston University
- Birmingham
Professor Chris Jones is an expert in multinationals, tax havens, profit shifting, sanctions, and the public finances of the UK.
Media
Social
Biography
A trained economist, he applies advanced econometric methods to large-scale firm-level data. He has led two major projects funded by the Leverhulme Trust (£121k and £165k). The first examined the institutional drivers of tax haven use by emerging market multinationals, while the second investigates how such practices shape industrial concentration. Together, these projects contribute to a broader research agenda focused on how multinational enterprises navigate and reshape institutional environments in the global economy.
Professor Jones has supervised five PhD students to completion, all of whom now work in UK higher education.
His work has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of World Business, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Management, British Journal of Management, World Development, Journal of Business Research, International Business Review, International Journal of Management Reviews, Management International Review, Critical Perspectives in International Business, The Journal of Travel Research, and Transnational Corporations. He has also contributed public commentary through The Conversation, and his research has received national and international recognition, including best paper awards from the Academy of International Business and the Journal of World Business.
From 2018 to 2022, he served as Head of the Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship Department at Aston Business School. Under his leadership, the department ranked 15th in the The Guardian League Table (2022) and 101–125th globally in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2021, jointly with Business and Management).
He holds a Master’s in Higher Education, is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, and has received multiple teaching awards, including the Economics Network national student-nominated award. He has published pedagogical research in Studies in Higher Education and contributed to curriculum design at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of The Economic Review.
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Economics Network Outstanding Lecturer of the Year
2011
Aston Excellence Award: Outstanding Teacher of the Year
2012
Education
University of Leicester
BA
Economics
2002
University of Leicester
MSc
Financial Economics
2004
University of Nottingham
PhD
Economics
2008
Aston University
MEd
Higher Education
2016
Affiliations
- Academy of International Business
- Centre for Business Prosperity
Links
Media Appearances
How smoking bans could lead to the death of the tobacco industry
The Conversation online
2016-05-31
Smoking bans have been introduced in numerous countries around the world, following the incontrovertible link that’s been made between smoking and cancer. The World Health Organisation estimates that over 6m people a year will die from smoking related illnesses each year and thousands more suffer from the effects of secondhand smoke.
An original Republican tax plan offers Trump a radical tool for corporate tax reform
The Conversation online
2017-01-30
Major US companies have long been known to specialise in profit shifting to tax havens to reduce their tax bill. This erosion of the corporate tax base is thought to lead to rising inequality and deprives countries of important revenues to spend on public services.
Budget 2017: experts respond
The Conversation online
2017-11-22
The UK chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, has delivered a budget which offered help to first-time home buyers and the prospect of more money for workers in the National Health Service, but his speech was partly overshadowed by sharp cuts to GDP growth forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Research Focus
Pedagogic Research: Student Work Placements
• Jones, C.M., Green, J.P. and Higson, H.E., 2017. Do work placements improve final year academic performance or do high-calibre students choose to do work placements?. Studies in higher education, 42(6), pp.976-992.
• Delis, A. and Jones, C., 2023. The impact of work placements on graduate earnings. Studies in Higher Education, 48(11), pp.1708-1723.
• Jones, C. and Wang, Y., 2023. The performance effects of international study placements versus work placements. Higher Education, 85(3), pp.689-710.
• Jones, C. and Olczak, M., 2016. The impact of lecture capture on student performance. Australasian Journal of Economics Education, 13(1), pp.13-29.
Conflict Zones, Sanctions & controversial Industry Contexts
• Driffield, N., Estrin, S., Jones, C. and Luong, H.P., 2026. Where angels fear to tread: FDI into sanctioned locations. Journal of International Management, p.101352.
• Driffield, N., Jones, C. and Crotty, J., 2013. International business research and risky investments, an analysis of FDI in conflict zones. International business review, 22(1), pp.140-155.
• Crotty, J., Driffield, N. and Jones, C., 2016. Regulation as Country‐Specific (Dis‐) Advantage: Smoking Bans and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in the Tobacco Industry. British Journal of Management, 27(3), pp.464-478.
Tax Havens, Profit-Shifting & Multinational Firms
• Jones, C. and Temouri, Y., 2016. The determinants of tax haven FDI. Journal of world Business, 51(2), pp.237-250.
• Jones, C., Temouri, Y. and Cobham, A., 2018. Tax haven networks and the role of the Big 4 accountancy firms. Journal of world business, 53(2), pp.177-193.
• Driffield, N., Jones, C., Kim, J.Y. and Temouri, Y., 2021. FDI motives and the use of tax havens: Evidence from South Korea. Journal of Business Research, 135, pp.644-662.
• Temouri, Y., Nardella, G., Jones, C. and Brammer, S., 2022. Haven‐sent? Tax havens, corporate social irresponsibility and the dark side of family firm internationalization. British Journal of Management, 33(3), pp.1447-1467.
• Jones, C., Temouri, Y., Kirollos, K. and Du, J., 2023. Tax havens and emerging market multinationals: The role of property rights protection and economic freedom. Journal of Business Research, 155, p.113373.
• Cao, Z.C., Jones, C. and Temouri, Y., 2024. Tax havens and tourism: The impact of the Panama papers and the crowding out of tourism by financial services. Journal of Travel Research, 63(4), pp.841-857.
• Cobham, A., Jansky, P., Jones, C. and Temouri, Y., 2021. An evaluation of the effects of the European Commission's proposals for the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (No. 13/2021). IES Working Paper.
• Luong, H.P., Jones, C. and Temouri, Y., 2025. Cluster internationalization to tax havens by multinational enterprises: An exploration of imitative behaviour. Journal of World Business, 60(4), p.101630.
• Felix, K., Jones, C., Rewilak, J. and Temouri, Y., 2025. Democracy and Natural Resources: Their Institutional Impact on Tax Haven Use by Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises: K. Felix et al. Management International Review, 65(5), pp.903-947.
• Jones, C., Temouri, Y. and Ahmed, A., 2020. The relationship between MNE tax haven use and FDI into developing economies characterized by capital flight. Transnational corporations, 27(2), pp.1-30.
Research Grants
Tax Havens and Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises
Leverhulme Project Grant
2018-2020
With Jun Du, Yama Temouri and Karim Kirollos
Tax Havens & Firm Performance
British Academy Small Research Grant
2014-2015
With Yama Temouri
Articles
Where Angels Fear to Tread: FDI into Sanctioned Locations
Journal of International Management2026
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly challenged by the strategic implications of economic sanctions, which are imposed in response to geopolitical instability, international conflict, and violations of international norms. In this paper, we propose that superior resources and capabilities enhance the ownership advantages of MNEs, enabling them to pursue foreign direct investment (FDI) in sanctioned locations. We also build on institutional theory to examine contextual conditions and find that effective home country institutions deter investment to sanctioned locations and decrease the magnitude of the moderating effect of firm resources and experience. Moreover, being in a sanctioned location leads firms to invest more to other sanctioned locations because of the resulting specific ownership advantages.
Democracy and Natural Resources: Their Institutional Impact on Tax Haven Use by Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises
Management International Review2025
This paper examines how the institutional environment influences multinational enterprise (MNE) strategies regarding tax haven use. We develop a theoretical framework linking democracy and natural resource endowments to the strategic use of tax havens in emerging markets. Using data from 4630 emerging market MNEs (EMNEs) between 2008 and 2018, we find that higher levels of democracy in an EMNE’s country of origin are associated with reduced tax haven use. However, the use of tax havens by EMNEs increases with higher natural resource rents in their home economies. Additionally, we find that natural resource rents moderate the impact of democracy on tax haven use, such that the natural resource curse weakens the positive effect of democracy on firm behavior. Our results offer important managerial and policy implications.
Cluster internationalization to tax havens by multinational enterprises: An exploration of imitative behaviour
Journal of World Business2025
This paper explores the factors that influence the internationalization of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from clusters, with a particular focus on the use of tax havens. Institutional Theory is used as our theoretical framework, with mimetic isomorphism highlighted as a primary mechanism connecting cluster characteristics to MNE internationalization. By analyzing firm-level data for the UK and Germany from 2008-2019, we show that institutional features within clusters—such as imitation, the co-location of professional services, and industrial concentration—facilitate this form of internationalization. Furthermore, the findings improve research on cluster internationalization, indicating that the imitation effect is amplified by firm leadership and experience.
Tax havens and tourism: The impact of the Panama papers and the crowding out of tourism by financial services
Journal of Travel Research2024
Tax havens are often connected to growth in tourism, as finance and tourism conveniently share infrastructural prerequisites. This paper addresses the detrimental impacts of a tax haven development strategy adopted by small open economies in relation to the development of their tourism industry. Utilizing the synthetic control method, we find that since the 2016 Panama Papers scandal, Panama’s tourism exports have fallen relative to an estimated counterfactual level that would have otherwise been attained. Moreover, based on an analysis of panel data drawn from 20 small open economies, we find that in the long run, the growth of the financial industry crowds out the tourism industry. Our findings warn tourism practitioners, based in tax havens, that they face an additional risk linked to potential tax scandals.
The performance effects of international study placements versus work placements
Higher Education2023
To be competitive, universities across the world are embedding an international perspective into every layer of an institution’s operational structure. For higher education (HE) providers that offer sandwich degrees (4-year undergraduate courses with a compulsory placement after the second year), this allows students to choose a range of options. Students can enter the labour market for one year, or they can go overseas to study at a foreign institution. For some students, it might even be possible to do both. However, regarding final year degree performance, which option leads to higher student performance? In this paper, we aim to shed light on this empirical question. Our results are drawn from Aston University (UK) which is a world-leading University in Advanced Technology.
The impact of work placements on graduate earnings
Studies in Higher Education2023
This study investigates whether the completion of an optional ‘sandwich’ work placement enhances graduate starting salaries. We use a variety of multivariate regression techniques to investigate this issue and find that the graduate starting salaries of students who took professional work placements were significantly higher by £1686 ($2105) compared to non-placement students. We make a methodological contribution to the literature by controlling for self-selection bias. That is, our analysis takes into consideration that certain students self-select in to work placements and that they would have had higher starting salaries regardless of whether choosing to take a work placement. Additional insights showed that placements may be detrimental in terms of alleviating class and gender pay inequality but may have helped to reduce ethnic pay inequality.
Tax havens and emerging market multinationals: The role of property rights protection and economic freedom
Journal of Business Research2023
This paper presents an investigation of the relationship between home country institutional quality and EMNE investments in tax havens. We develop a conceptual framework that adapts the institutional escapism framework, whereby EMNEs expand globally to escape any home country institutional hazards, together with the institutional leverage framework, whereby EMNEs can leverage their home country institutions as a competitive advantage. This enabled us to conceptually derive and explain the curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship that develops between institutional differences and reforms over time and how this affects EMNE strategy towards tax havens. Based on a large cross-country firm-level dataset, our empirical results confirm the curvilinear relationship, such that EMNEs from weaker institutional environments are more likely to own tax haven subsidiaries.
Haven‐sent? Tax havens, corporate social irresponsibility and the dark side of family firm internationalization
British Journal of Management2022
Family firms have been associated with an enhanced propensity for corporate social responsibility (CSR), but does this imply that family firms have a reduced propensity for corporate social irresponsibility (CSI)? Drawing on the behavioural agency model (BAM) and socio‐emotional wealth (SEW) perspectives, our study explores the ‘dark side’ of family firm internationalization, by focusing specifically on the use of tax havens. We theorize that decision trade‐offs to internationalize to tax haven locations tend to be tempered by SEW considerations in family firms, which subsequently decreases the propensity of family firms to engage in this form of CSI, when compared to non‐family firms. We explore how family firm heterogeneity, such as relationships with tax advisors and generational involvement in the family business, influence their propensity for tax haven internationalization.
An evaluation of the effects of the European Commission's proposals for the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base
IES Working Paper2021
This paper evaluates the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) recently proposed by the European Commission. We find that if the CCCTB is introduced as it is currently proposed (including loss consolidation), then it is likely to impose large tax revenue costs of about one fifth of the corporate tax base. Second, we show that an application of the CCCTB proposals at only the European Union (EU) level would overlook the extent of profit shifting out of the EU and could lock in further unnecessary revenue losses. Third, major EU profit-shifting countries such as Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands may experience significant revenue losses. Based on our analysis, the main policy recommendation is to consider extending the approach to a worldwide system, which would simultaneously deal with profit shifting within and out of the EU, and appears to offer the best prospect for revenue-positive, welfare-enhancing reform. For this to be viable, an immediate priority is to collate cross-country-comparable data and provide precise assessments of the range of policy scenarios.
FDI motives and the use of tax havens: Evidence from South Korea
Journal of Business Research2021
Despite the recent attention in the media and focus in the academic literature on tax havens and tax mitigation strategies, we know very little about how the use of tax havens relates to a firm’s internationalisation strategy. In this paper, we develop a conceptual model that explains how FDI into tax havens relates to the standard FDI motives identified in the literature. We subsequently use a novel dataset that allows us to empirically investigate how these motives impact upon tax haven FDI in the South Korean context, which has experienced very rapid economic development over the last few decades and is now considered an advanced economy. We find that tax haven FDI is strongly linked to market-seeking and efficiency-seeking FDI, whereas its link with resources-seeking FDI is only found with respect to the most secretive tax haven locations.
The Relationship Between Corporate Governance and Tax Havens: A Critical Review and Future Research Directions
Annals of Corporate Governance2020
This review investigates the important linkages of the role and extent of corporate governance in explaining tax haven activity by multinational enterprises (MNEs). We contribute to the literature by identifying and mapping how the extant academic and policy literature has hitherto investigated: (1) the magnitude of tax haven activity over time; (2) the channels and mechanisms via which individual MNEs are able to use tax havens; and (3) the determinants that may drive MNEs to invest in tax havens. We further contribute by identifying the linkages through more recent and exciting research that investigates the relationship between corporate governance factors and tax haven activity.
The Relationship Between MNE Tax Haven Use and FDI into Developing Economies Characterized by Capital Flight
Transnational Corporations Journal2020
The use of tax havens by multinationals is a pervasive activity in international business. However, we know little about the complementary relationship between tax haven use and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the developing world. Drawing on internalization theory, we develop a conceptual framework that explores this relationship and allows us to contribute to the literature on the determinants of tax haven use by developed-country multinationals. Using a large, firm-level data set, we test the model and find a strong positive association between tax haven use and FDI into countries characterized by low economic development and extreme levels of capital flight.
Identity of Asian Multinational Corporations: influence of tax havens
Asian Business & Management2019
The sustained growth and importance of Asia as a hub of economic, social and political activity has attracted significant foreign direct investment and opportunities for economies from the West and other parts of the world to invest in this fast growing region. Regional headquarters and global innovation hubs of large multinational corporations (MNCs) are evidence of an Asian century phenomenon. The proliferation of tax havens in the region or the use of tax havens by firms in the Asian region is no surprise.
Tax haven networks and the role of the Big 4 accountancy firms
Journal of World Business2018
This paper investigates the association between the Big 4 accountancy firms and the extent to which multinational enterprises build, manage and maintain their networks of tax haven subsidiaries. We extend internalisation theory and derive a number of hypotheses that are tested using count models on firm-level data. Our key findings demonstrate that there is a strong correlation and causal link between the size of an MNE’s tax haven network and their use of the Big 4. We therefore argue that public policy related to the role of auditors can have a significant impact on the tax avoidance behaviour of MNEs.
Do work placements improve final year academic performance or do high-calibre students choose to do work placements?
Studies in Higher Education2017
This study investigates whether the completion of an optional sandwich work placement enhances student performance in final year examinations. Using Propensity Score Matching, our analysis departs from the literature by controlling for self-selection. Previous studies may have overestimated the impact of sandwich work placements on performance because it might be the case that high-calibre students choose to go on placement.
The Impact of Lecture Capture on Student Performance
Australasian Journal of Economics Education2016
This paper investigates whether watching online recordings of live lecturers improves student performance on a large first year introductory economics module taught in a Business School. Our results show that performance on other modules and previous experience of economics are the key determinants of performance on this module. However, we also show that watching the lecture recordings may go some way to counteracting a student’s lack of previous experience in the subject.
The determinants of tax haven FDI
Journal of World Business2016
This paper examines the determinants of a multinational enterprise's (MNEs) decision to set up tax haven subsidiaries. We adapt the firm-specific advantage–country-specific advantage (FSA–CSA) framework and construct a number of empirically testable hypotheses. The analysis is based on a database covering 14,209 MNEs in twelve OECD countries. We find that the variety of capitalism of a MNEs home location and the level of technological intensity has a strong impact on this decision. We also find that the home country corporate tax rate has a minimal impact. This suggests that corporate tax liberalisation is unlikely to deter MNEs from undertaking this activity.
Regulation as Country‐Specific (Dis‐) Advantage: Smoking Bans and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in the Tobacco Industry
British Journal of Management2016
This paper seeks to examine the relationship between smoking bans and the propensity of tobacco firms to engage in foreign direct investment (FDI). Using international business theory based on the firm‐specific advantage/country‐specific advantage (FSA/CSA) matrix, the authors show that, contrary to what one may expect, smoking bans at home are an important institutional intervention, reducing the propensity for firms to engage in FDI, even to countries without a ban themselves.
International business research and risky investments, an analysis of FDI in conflict zones
International Business Review2013
The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of a firm's strategy to invest in a conflict location. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been done before. We examine this using a standard model of international business, overlaid with the fundamental approach to corporate social responsibility. We start with the population of multinationals who have chosen to invest in low income countries with weak institutions. We then split this sample in order to distinguish between firms that have invested in conflict regions compared to those that have not. Our analysis then proceeds to explain the decision of those firms to invest in conflict locations using a simple Probit model. We find that countries with weaker institutions and less concern about corporate social responsibility (CSR) are more likely to invest in conflict regions. Finally, firms with more concentrated ownership are more likely to invest in such locations.
