McDonald\u27s -- Much Maligned, but an Engine of Economic Development

Critics have excoriated the US fast-food industry in general, and McDonald\u27s most particularly, both per se and as a symbol of the United States. However, examining McDonald\u27s internationalization and development abroad suggests that McDonald\u27s and the others of its ilk are sources of development for mid-range countries. McDonald\u27s brings training in management, encourages entrepreneurship directly through franchises and indirectly through demonstration effects, creates backward linkages that develop local suppliers, fosters exports by their suppliers, and has positive external effects on productivity and standards of service, cleanliness, and quality in the host economies