Human capital,FTAs and foreign direct investment flows into ASEAN

In this paper, we examine the impact of foreign direct investment flows into ASEAN in a gravity model using the bilateral FDI data from 2000 to 2009. In particular, we study the key factors that determine the FDI flows into the region including human capital development and whether membership of a bilateral or regional trade agreement has a differential impact on FDI flows using an extended gravity model. The empirical results indicate that free trade agreements do have positive impact on FDI inflows. However, the returns on FDI inflows depend on the domestic absorptive capacity of the economy and region. It is imperative for ASEAN to align its infrastructure, human capital and technologies to provide MNCs with the necessary linkages to the global network and also to move the domestic industries seamlessly up the global production value-chain. The paper highlights that this is crucial for deeper ASEAN integration and for sustainable growth in the region.     

FDI对我国外汇储备增长的实证分析——基于1986～2009年度数据的计量检验

本文基于前人研究,采用1986～2009年年度数据,实证研究了FDI对我国外汇储备增长的影响。结果表明,FDI是促进我国外汇储备增长的长期且十分重要的因素,这意味着我们应通过合理的外资政策引导FDI的流入,改善FDI的长期负面影响,以调和巨额外汇储备带来的不同效应。     

FDI promotion through bilateral investment treaties: more than a bit?

Policy makers in developing countries have increasingly pinned their hopes on bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in order to improve their chances in the worldwide competition for foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the effectiveness of BITs in inducing higher FDI inflows is still open to debate. It is in several ways that we attempt to clarify the inconclusive empirical findings of earlier studies. We cover a much larger sample of host and source countries by drawing on an extensive data set on bilateral FDI flows. Furthermore, we account for unilateral FDI liberalization, in order not to overestimate the effect of BITs, as well as for the potential endogeneity of BITs. Employing a gravity-type model and various model specifications, including an instrumental variable approach, we find that BITs do promote FDI flows to developing countries. BITs may even substitute for weak domestic institutions, though probably not for unilateral capital account liberalization.     

Human Capital and FDI Inflows to Developing Countries: New Empirical Evidence

Despite the dramatic increase in total foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries in the last few years, the bulk of the inflows has been directed to only a limited number of countries. It has been argued that developing countries might enhance their attractiveness as locations for FDI by pursuing policies that raise the level of local skills and build up human resource capabilities. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence in the literature in support of this recommendation for a large sample of developing countries is scant. This paper evaluates this argument in the light of the evolution in the structural characteristics of FDI and empirically tests the hypothesis that the level of human capital in host countries may affect the geographical distribution of FDI. The empirical findings are: (a) human capital is a statistically significant determinant of FDI inflows; (b) human capital is one of the most important determinants; and (c) its importance has become increasingly greater through time.     

The Impact of Capital Inflows on Asset Prices in Emerging Asian Economies: Is Too Much Money Chasing Too Little Good?

In recent years, emerging Asian economies have experienced (i) large capital inflows, especially a surge in portfolio inflows, and (ii) an appreciation of asset prices such as stocks, land, and nominal and real exchange rates. We empirically investigate the effects of capital inflows on asset prices by employing a panel VAR model. The empirical results suggest that capital inflows indeed have contributed to asset price appreciation in the region, although capital inflow shocks explain a relatively small part of asset price fluctuations.     

Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and Intellectual Property Rights: Empirical Evidence from Different Income Groups

This study examines the impact of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows by considering global data with three income groups classified by World Bank (i.e. high-, middle-, and low-income groups). The empirical model relates FDI inflows to IPRs, controlled by a set of known variables, namely GDP per capital, trade openness, real exchange rate, and real interest rate. The study covers panel data of between 35 and 100 countries for the period 1980–2014. The panel cointegration tests suggest that FDI inflow and IPRs with the other control variables are cointegrated for full countries and high-income group. Their estimated (long-run) coefficients are 0.04 and 0.18, respectively, but insignificant in the short-run. The impact (short-run) of TRIPS agreement is positive for full countries, but negative for low-income group. Non-causality tests further support the role of IPRs on FDI. Various transmission channels have been identified, in particularly for low-income countries. This study enlightens policymakers about the policy on creating a conducive and sustainable environment for IPRs in order to encourage FDI inflows to their countries.     

Foreign investment and bribery: A firm-level analysis of corruption in Vietnam

Among the concerns faced by countries pondering the costs and benefits of greater economic openness to international capital flows is the worry that new and powerful external actors will exert a corrupting influence on the domestic economy. In this paper, we use a novel empirical strategy, drawn from research in experimental psychology, to test the linkage between foreign direct investment (FDI) and corruption. The prevailing literature has produced confused and contradictory results on this vital relationship due to errors in their measurement of corruption which are correlated with FDI inflows. When a less biased operationalization is employed, we find clear evidence of corruption during both registration and procurement procedures in Vietnam. The prevalence of corruption, however, is not associated with inflows of FDI. On the contrary, one measure of economic openness appears to be the most important driver of reductions in Vietnamese corruption: the wave of domestic legislation, which accompanied the country's bilateral trade liberalization agreement with the United States (US-BTA), significantly reduced bribery during business registration.     

International factor migration and the U.S.

Conclusion The model employed is sufficiently realistic to provide conclusions regarding income distribution due to factor migration. While more disaggregation and other models would be revealing, these results correspond to observed positions on migration issues. Owners of a productive factor can be expected to favor migration policy, either the making or enforcing of laws, favorable to themselves. A factor owner's sentiments can be predicted by identifying patterns of friendship. While each productive factor is its own enemy, empirical results for the U.S. identify two pairs of enemies as well: capital/skilled and semiskilled/unskilled labor. Unskilled labor is a friend of capitalists and skilled labor, both of which can be expected to favor their free immigration.     

Comparative advantage FDI? A host country perspective

Recent empirical studies of the determinants of multinational activity across countries have found overwhelming support for a horizontal rather than a vertical model of foreign direct investment (FDI). They all use US or other developed country data. This paper, in contrast, uses a detailed industry-level data set on FDI in a relatively skilled-labor and capital scarce country, Mexico, to shed light on the determinants of FDI between largely dissimilar countries. The results indicate considerably more support for a comparative advantage motive for FDI, although a market access motive is present as well. The correlation between skill differences and FDI is positive in all industries, but when differences are large, FDI flows into sectors that are intensive in total labor, regardless of skill level. The concentration of multinational activity in (unskilled) labor intensive industries suggests a potential for spillover effects.     

Capital flows and real exchange rates in emerging Asian countries

This paper examines the impact of capital flows on real exchange rates in emerging Asian countries during 2000–2009 using a dynamic panel-data model. The estimation results show that the composition of capital flow matters in determining the impact of the flows on real exchange rates. Other forms of capital flow, especially portfolio investment, bring in a faster speed of real exchange rate appreciation than foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the magnitude of appreciation among capital flows is close to each other. The increasing importance of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in FDI in the region makes these flows behave closer to other forms of capital flow. The estimation results also show that during the estimation period, capital outflows bring about a greater degree of exchange rate adjustment than capital inflows. This evidence is found for all types of capital flow. All in all, the results indicate that the swift rebound of capital inflows into the region could result in excessive appreciation of (real) currencies, especially when capital inflows are in the form of portfolio investment.     

Optimal Exit Costs of Foreign Direct Investment

This paper examines the optimal policy on exit costs of foreign direct investment for a host country considering the impact of varying income level and host country’s risk aversion against volatile FDI flows. Based on a dynamic model about the impact of the exit costs on FDI inflows and capital formation, we demonstrate that a host country should determine the exit cost considering two counterbalancing factors, that is, facilitating higher FDI inflows and reducing volatility of FDI inflows. When a host country is less vulnerable to volatility with inelastic risk aversion against FDI volatility, it is optimal for the host country with a negative income shock to take a more aggressive approach to induce FDI inflows by lowering exit costs. However, if the host country is more vulnerable to volatility with elastic risk aversion, the host country is advised to take a conservative approach by increasing exit costs to reduce FDI volatility. These findings, supported by the OECD data on 42 countries’ exits costs, implicate that developing countries are recommended to lower exit costs to induce higher FDI inflows when they are not highly vulnerable to volatility shocks.     

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN ZIMBABWE: THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL AND MACROECONOMIC FACTORS

The purpose of our research is to examine the impact of property rights on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Zimbabwe for the period 1964‐2005. While the macroeconomic determinants of FDI have been analysed to a considerable extent in past empirical work, the role of institutional factors such as the protection of property rights and the efficiency of the legal system has been underexplored. Using a multivariate cointegration framework, we use a newly constructed de jure property rights index for Zimbabwe to determine the impact of property rights on FDI. The empirical evidence shows that property rights are consistently an important explanatory variable of FDI in Zimbabwe, even after controlling for periods when there are no significant new foreign capital inflows. Other significant explanatory variables of FDI in Zimbabwe are the real gross domestic product (GDP), capital intensity, the external debt to GDP ratio, political instability as well as the educational levels.     

人民币-美元汇率与中国FDI利用关系的实证分析

本文采用实证方法探讨了人民币-美元汇率与FDI的相互作用关系。本文研究表明,FDI的大量利用是人民币升值压力累积的原因,而人民币升值短期内会对中国FDI利用产生负面效应。本文的经验分析还表明,人民币升值也会对直接投资的结构产生影响。     

Financing consumption in an aging Japan: The role of foreign capital inflows and immigration

We project the impact of demographic change on Japanese capital flows by simulating the impact of population aging on Japanese saving and investment rates. As aging depresses saving rates, in our baseline projections, we show that by 2015, foreign capital inflows will comprise about 15 percent of Japanese output. A distinguishing feature of this paper is that we compare the capital flows that occur without immigration to the capital inflows that would occur with immigration of 400,000 people annually. With the larger labor force from immigration and the large induced capital accumulation, output will be 22 percent higher by 2020, and 50 percent higher by 2040. The higher output means that less capital needs to be imported; by 2015, Japan will be importing only 8 percent of its output. J. Japanese Int. Economies 18 (4) (2004) 506–527.     

人民币实际汇率变动与FDI流入结构：理论模型与实证分析

随着FDI流入我国规模的扩大,引资结构也发生了很大的变化。同时,伴随着我国经济实力的增强,FDI流入已从高速成长期进入成熟期,因此,人民币汇率变动对FDI的影响也表现出一定的复杂性。将FDI流入我国的类型划分为贸易型与非贸易型,从投资商谋求利润最大化的微观视角,建立人民币汇率变动与不同类型的FDI之间关系的理论模型。进一步地,利用2006-2011年的月度数据对理论模型的观点进行了验证。研究结果显示,我国制造业FDI与服务业FDI均与人民币汇率呈现正相关关系,但是短期还表现为一定的负相关性。两行业FDI流入成为人民币汇率变动的重要因素。     

Bilateral tax agreement and FDI inflows: Evidence from Hong Kong investment in the Mainland China

This paper explains the changes in the composition of the source countries or regions of FDI in China from the perspective of taxation. Based on FDI data from 2003 to 2012, the empirical test, employing the difference-in-differences (DID) model, shows that, after the implementation of the tax agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong in 2007, FDI from Hong Kong increased significantly. After the integration of domestic and foreign-funded enterprise income tax systems in 2008, Hong Kong capital inflows increased even more drastically. The extended analyses show that, the substantial increase in Hong Kong capital after the implementation of this bilateral tax agreement was partly related to the diversion effect of investment. MNCs might have diverted investment from other tax havens to the mainland via Hong Kong, resulting in a sharp increase in the amount and proportion of Hong Kong investment, whereas those of FDI from other tax havens have declined.     

Do contagion effects exist in capital flow volatility?

The cross-border transmission of a financial shock has been a subject of rich literature. While a large number of studies have focused on the phenomenon of strong co-movements of asset prices and capital flows in the event of financial stress, very few discussed the contagion or spillover effects in terms of capital flow volatility. This paper is one of the first attempts to assess, empirically, whether or not there is a global and regional spillover effect in the volatility of capital flows to emerging and developing countries. Based on the sample of 49 emerging and developing countries for the period 1980–2009, the empirical results suggest strong and significant contagion effects in the volatility of capital flows to individual economies. The magnitudes of contagion vary depending on the type of capital flows, whether it is foreign direct investment (FDI) or portfolio and other investment (mostly bank lending). The findings also suggest the volatility dynamics of gross flows is different from that of net flows. The volatility of net inflows is more exposed to intra-regional contagion compared to that of gross inflows.     

生产者服务业FDI与东道国工资差距:理论与实证

本文从理论和实证两个角度,阐述并验证了生产者服务业FDI对东道国熟练与非熟练工人的工资差距的影响。通过一个将生产者服务作为中间投入的两部门理论模型,我们发现,生产者服务业FDI使得服务品种增加,并造成熟练工人从一般制造业部门流向服务(或高技术)部门,导致熟练工人工资上升而非熟练工人工资下降。本文选取上海市的数据,建立了4个回归模型进行实证检验。结果表明,生产者服务业FDI对熟练与非熟练工人的工资差距会产生直接而显著的扩大作用,但是它同时能通过其他解释变量,如人均GDP、人均人力资本、第三产业就业率以及第二产业的全员劳动生产率对工资差距产生间接的收缩作用。最后,本文针对回归结果得出了相应的结论和启示。     

Global Foreign Direct Investment Flows: The Role of Governance Infrastructure

It is widely argued that a country’s economic performance over time is determined to a great extent by its political, institutional and legal environment. We refer to these institutions and policies as the governance infrastructure of a country. We utilize newly developed indices to examine the effects of governance infrastructure on both foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and outflows for a broad sample of developed and developing countries over 1995–97. In addition, we examine the role of other forms of infrastructure including human capital and the environment. The results clearly indicate that governance infrastructure is an important determinant of both FDI inflows and outflows. Investments in governance infrastructure not only attract capital, but also create the conditions under which domestic multinational corporations emerge and invest abroad. It would appear that investments in governance infrastructure are subject to diminishing returns, so that the benefits, in terms of inflows, are most pronounced for smaller and developing economies.     

Foreign capital flows and economic growth in East Asian countries

This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the effect of various types of capital flow on the growth process of the East Asian countries, including China. The empirical analysis was based on dynamic panel data and we found; first, that domestic savings contribute positively to long-term economic growth. Second, we confirmed that FDI is growth enhancing and that its impact is felt both in the short and long run. Additionally, FDI influence on growth is much higher than domestic savings. Third, short-term capital inflow has adverse effect on the long-term as well as short-term growth prospects and it appears to be sensitive to long-term capital inflows. Fourth, long-term debt has positive effect on growth but its effect does somewhat disappear in the long-term. By and large, the observed positive contribution of FDI in the growth process of East Asian economies is a robust finding. From policy perspective, the evidence convincingly suggests that countries that are successful in attracting FDI can finance more investments and grow faster than those that deter FDI.