Technology spillover effects and economic integration: evidence from integrating EU countries

The article uses time series for the period 1981–2008 to estimate the impact of foreign technology spillover effects on Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, representing the integrating European Union (EU) countries. I restrict technology diffusion to EU-12 countries and compare the results to unrestricted technology diffusion from a sample of 32 OECD countries. Accounting for nonstationarity and co-integration, the dynamic OLS estimator is used to estimate the impact of foreign R&D stock on labour productivity, taking into account patent-, trade- and FDI-related technology diffusion channels. I find empirical evidence for trade-related foreign technology spillover effects for Greece and Ireland if technology diffusion is unrestricted. Restricting technology diffusion to EU-12 countries, there are significant foreign technology spillover effects from European integration for Portugal (patent related) and Spain (trade and FDI related). Moreover, the domestic R&D stock and education are significant drivers for labour productivity in integrating EU countries. The empirical results are robust for different regression specifications and sources of technology diffusion.     

The Role of Trade in Intra‐Industry Productivity Growth—the Case of Old and New European Union Countries

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of trade in productivity growth in a sample of 30 sectors in 25 EU countries in the period of rapid East–West integration (1995–2007). Shift‐share analysis is used to show that changes in value added per hour worked in these countries appear to be mainly due to positive developments (rising productivity) within single industries and only to a lower extent result from a shift towards higher productivity activities. Trade is found to be an important positive determinant of intra‐industry productivity growth in European countries. Exports and imports alike can be associated with efficiency gains, but intermediate good exchange and trade with New Member States exert a particularly strong influence on intra‐industry productivity growth in the EU.     

The impact of trade openness on technical efficiency in the agricultural sector of the European Union

The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of trade openness on technical efficiency of the European Union’s (EU) agricultural sector. There are no systematic theories linking trade policy to technical efficiency; hence, the relation between trade liberalization and technical efficiency is fundamentally ambiguous. Stochastic frontier analysis is used to model the relationship between EU’s production resources and agricultural output, as well as the importance of trade openness on technical efficiency of a country. The data for 16 of the 28 EU members were available for the period 1980–2007 including land, capital, fertilizer, labour, agricultural GDP, foreign direct investments (FDI), exports and import data. Results indicate that trade openness has an immediate, negative impact on efficiency in the EU agricultural sector. Over time, however, trade openness does increase efficiency. The FDI outflows increase efficiency. This suggests that an initial reduction in capital supply forces EU nations to utilize other factor inputs more efficiently. However, there is the unexamined potential that over time the depletion of capital results in a decrease in efficiency. Finally, formerly communist member-countries of the EU are found to have the lowest technical efficiency scores whereas Southern European nations have the highest efficiency.     

The long-run effect of foreign direct investment on total factor productivity in developing countries: a panel cointegration analysis

This paper examines the long-run effect of the level of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the level of total factor productivity (TFP) for 49 developing countries for the period 1981–2011 using panel cointegration and causality techniques. It is found that (i) FDI has, on average, a negative long-run effect on TFP in developing countries, (ii) long-run causality runs in only one direction, from FDI to TFP, (iii) in the short run, TFP has a negative effect on FDI, and (iv) the long-run effect of FDI of TFP differs between selected groups of countries: While the estimated long-run FDI–TFP coefficients are always relatively large, negative, and significant for countries with lower levels of human capital, financial development, and trade openness, the estimated effects are relatively small, insignificant, or even significantly positive for subgroups of countries with higher levels of human capital, financial development, and trade openness.     

How Does Globalization Affect Income Inequality? A Panel Data Analysis

One of the major issues on the state of income inequality is the effect of globalization through foreign direct investment (FDI). It is well known that FDI inflows create employment opportunities for unskilled labor intensive countries. Hence, during recessionary (expansionary) periods, FDI outflows should cause an increase in a developing (developed) country’s unemployment rate, worsening income inequality. This study differs from the previous literature by employing the key variables FDI, trade volume, and GINI coefficient for a panel of three groups of countries (developed, developing, and miracle countries). We estimated panel cointegration coefficients via FM-OLS. Our results show that the effects of trade liberalization and FDI on income distribution differ for different country groups.     

The effect of sample size on European Union’s renewable energy investment drivers

Macroeconomic modelling results based on relatively varying sample sizes may lead to incoherent results. Such effects have not been adequately understood in the renewable energy literature regarding the European Union (EU). This study focuses on the comparison of results obtained for renewable energy investment drivers (for solar and wind energy investments) on different samples of EU countries, including all EU-27, former EU-15 and 11 high renewable investment EU countries. The study used a random effect panel data modelling approach over the period 1995–2011 for studying the impact of the levelized cost, regulation perception, carbon emissions and climatic condition on wind and solar investments over the three samples. The results demonstrate the importance of trustable regulation schemes to ensure that regulation will not have a significant negative effect on investment, showing also the need to further extend the model to include support schemes as fundamental drivers for investment.     

Government size,government debt and globalization

This article empirically investigates the effect of globalization on government size and debt. Using panel heterogeneous cointegration techniques to a panel of developing and developed countries, it finds that globalization reduces government size and debt. In terms of components of globalization, government size is found to increase with trade openness but decreases with financial, social and political globalization. On the other hand, government debt increases with financial and trade openness but decreases with social and political globalization. The evidence is robust to different estimation methods and different samples. Our data also indicate unidirectional causality running from globalization measures to government size and debt.     

Technology spillover effects within Spanish communities

The article uses panel data for the period 1990–2010 to estimate technology spillover effects on 17 Spanish communities. Accounting for nonstationarity and cointegration, we use the dynamic OLS estimator to estimate the impact of domestic and non-domestic R&;D capital stock on labour productivity of Spanish communities, taking into account trade-, migration- and foreign direct investment (FDI)-related technology diffusion channels. We find significant trade-related spillover effects within Spanish communities and from EU countries. On average, an increase in the non-domestic R&;D stock of 1% increases their labour productivity between 0.02% and 0.12% if related to bilateral trade pattern. Moreover, migration within Spanish communities has a negative impact ranging between ?0.07% and ?0.16% on labour productivity as the impact of inward migration is dominated by outward migration. There is no robust impact from FDI inflows of OECD countries in general or EU countries in particular. Finally, the domestic R&;D stock, physical capital and human capital are shown to be significant drivers for labour productivity in Spain no matter if non-domestic (local or foreign) spillover effects are trade-, migration- or FDI-related.     

Do regional trade agreements stimulate FDI? Evidence for the Agadir,MERCOSUR and AFTA regions

The integration of emerging markets into the global economy is heavily promoted by foreign direct investment (FDI ) inflows. Among the factors explaining the location of FDI , regional trade agreements (RTA s) can be relevant for emerging markets, as they can promote economic integration and increase the attractiveness of the region for foreign investors. This paper investigates the impact of South–South trade agreements on the FDI decision of multinationals, where the Agadir, mercado comun del sur (MERCOSUR), and ASEAN free trade area (AFTA) agreements are considered. Three panels of countries are defined, where the members joined a specific agreement or not. Non‐Gulf Arab states are compared to better performing regions in Latin America and Southern and Eastern Asia. The analysis provides evidence that openness to foreign trade and financial markets are among the main catalysts to attract FDI , provided that business‐friendly institutions exist in the host country. Other variables, like the size of the industrial sector, urbanization rates, and external debt appear to be important in some cases. The integration of China into the world economy is a specific trigger for FDI to Asian destinations. Since RTA s influence the market size by reducing barriers to trade, their impact operates via GDP growth and openness. Gains from the agreement are striking for Latin America and Asia, but not for Arab states. To attract more FDI , business‐friendly institutional reforms and mechanisms to support new firm foundation should be implemented in this region.     

Does economic freedom increase income inequality? Evidence from the EU countries

This paper examines the relationship between economic liberalization and income inequality in the EU using panel data for the 2000s. The empirical evidence suggests that economic freedom is strongly related to income inequality. However, not all areas of economic freedom affect income distribution similarly. Government size is robustly associated with inequality, and also when controlling for potential endogeneity in a dynamic panel data analysis. Regulation is linked to income inequality as well, whereas legal system and sound money have no significant effects on income distribution. In the case of freedom to trade internationally, the relationship differs between old (EU-15) and new (former socialist) EU countries.     

Does integration and economic policy coordination promote business cycle synchronization in the EU?

Previous studies have discounted important factors and indirect channels that might contribute to business cycle synchronization (BCS) in the EU. We estimate the effects of market integration and economic policy coordination on bilateral business cycle correlations over the period 1995–2012 using a simultaneous equations model that takes into accounts both the endogenous relationships and unveils direct and indirect effects. The results suggest that (1) trade and FDI have a pronounced positive effect on BCS, particularly between incumbent and new EU members. (2) Rising specialization does not decouple business cycles. (3) The decline of income disparities in EU27 contributes to BCS, as converging countries develop stronger trade and FDI linkages. (4) There is strong evidence that poor fiscal discipline of EU members is a major impediment of business cycle synchronization. (5) The same argument holds true for exchange rate fluctuations that hinder BCS, particularly in EU15. Since BCS is a fundamental prerequisite and objective in an effective monetary union, the EU has to promote market integration and strengthen the common setting of economic policies.     

Financial Openness and the Dutch Disease

This paper studies the relationship between the degree of financial openness and Dutch disease effects of capital inflows in developing countries. The results reveal that an increase in financial openness leads to an appreciation of the real exchange rate. In particular, the study shows that an increase in inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) results in an appreciation of the real exchange rate in more financially open countries only. The results also suggest that there is a trade‐off between the resource movement effect and the spending effect in more financially open economies following an increase in FDI inflows, such that the more the tradable sector expands relative to the nontradable sector, the greater is the real exchange rate appreciation.     

Wage share,globalization and crisis: the case of the manufacturing industry in Korea,Mexico and Turkey

The aim of this paper is to analyze the changes in the wage share in the manufacturing industry in Mexico, Turkey and Korea in the era of globalization. The focus is on the one hand on the effects of globalization on the wage share, which is measured by the effects of international trade and FDI intensity of the economy. On the other hand, the process of opening up has been accompanied by major currency crises in most developing countries in the last decade, which has affected the wage share through exchange rate depreciation and economic recession. The paper develops a Post‐Keynesian conflicting claims model for an open economy under the pressure of globalization, and an equation for the wage share is estimated for each country using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression method. The results show that both recessions and nominal depreciations have a clear and lasting negative effect on the manufacturing wage share in all countries, whereas the effect of openness, in particular international trade depends on industrial policy structure. Increased export intensity leads to a decline in the manufacturing wage share in Turkey and Mexico, but has no significant effect in Korea. The positive expectations from FDI are also not materialized in any of the three countries.     

GLOBALIZATION AND REGIONAL INCOME INEQUALITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM WITHIN CHINA

China's recent accession to the WTO is expected to accelerate its integration into the world economy, which aggravates concerns over the impact of globalization on the already rising inter-region income inequality in China. This paper discusses China's globalization process and estimates an income generating function, incorporating trade and FDI variables. It then applies the newly developed Shapley value decomposition technique to quantify the contributions of globalization, along with other variables, to regional inequality. It is found that: (a) globalization constitutes a positive and substantial share of regional inequality and the share rises over time; (b) domestic capital, however, emerges as the largest contributor to regional inequality; (c) economic reform characterized by privatization exerts an increasingly significant impact on regional inequality; and (d) the relative contributions of education, location, urbanization and dependency ratio to regional inequality have been declining.     

Foreign direct investment and income inequality: Does the relationship vary with absorptive capacity?

There has been little systematic empirical literature on the linkage between income inequality and FDI (Basu and Guariglia, 2007; Tsai, 1995). This paper analyzes the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on income inequality and asks whether the relationship depends on absorptive capacity or not, by using a cross-sectional dataset taken from 54 countries over the period 1980–2005. We adopt the endogenous threshold regression model proposed by Hansen (2000) and Caner and Hansen (2004) and find strong evidence of a two-regime split in our sample. That is, FDI is likely to be harmful to the income distribution of those host countries with low levels of absorptive capacity. By contrast, our results support the perspective that FDI has little effect on income inequality in the case of countries with better absorptive capacity. It is also shown that international trade can lead to more equal income distribution.     

The relationship between insurance and economic growth in Europe: a theoretical and empirical analysis

The role of insurance companies, although growing in importance in financial intermediation, has received less attention than bank and stock markets and if so, mainly as a provider of risk transfer in single country or very heterogeneous samples. We investigate both the impact of insurance investment and premiums on GDP growth in Europe. We conduct a cross-country panel data analysis from 1992 to 2005 for 29 European countries. We find a positive impact of life insurance on GDP growth in the EU-15 countries, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. For the New EU Member States from Central and Eastern Europe, we find a larger impact for liability insurance. Furthermore our findings emphasise the impact of the real interest rate and the level of economic development on the insurance-growth nexus. We argue that the insurance sector needs to be paid more attention in financial sector analysis and macroeconomic policy.

Endogenous Financial and Trade Openness

The authors study the endogenous determination of financial and trade openness. They construct a theoretical framework leading to two-way feedbacks between financial and trade openness and identify these feedbacks empirically. They find that one standard deviation increase in commercial openness is associated with a 9.5% increase in de facto financial openness (% of GDP). Similarly, an increase in de facto financial openness has powerful effects on future trade openness. De jure restrictions on capital mobility have only a weak impact on de facto financial openness, while de jure restrictions on the current account have a large adverse effect on commercial openness. The authors investigate the relative magnitudes of these directions of causality using Geweke's (1982 ) decomposition methodology. They conclude that in an era of rapidly growing trade integration, countries cannot choose financial openness independently of their degree of openness to trade. Dealing with greater exposure to turbulence by imposing restrictions on financial flows is likely to be ineffectual.     

Globalization, the output-inflation tradeoff and inflation

This paper provides comprehensive evidence on the relation between inflation and globalization, defined here as trade and financial openness, using a large cross-section of 91 countries over the period 1985-2004. We establish two main empirical regularities: both higher trade and financial openness (i) reduce central banks’ inflation bias, yielding lower average inflation and (ii) are associated with a larger output-inflation tradeoff. This evidence is at odds with the standard Barro-Gordon framework, which would require globalization to have a negative effect on the output-inflation tradeoff to yield lower equilibrium inflation, but it is consistent with a recent strand of new Keynesian models emphasizing the role of imperfect competition and nominal rigidities. Our findings also support the relevance of the time-inconsistency hypothesis, which underlies the theoretical models predicting a relation between globalization and inflation. For the OECD subsample, however, we do not find an effect of openness on inflation (the output-inflation tradeoff), suggesting that these countries have created an institutional framework for central banks that eliminates distortions due to the time-inconsistency problem.     

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Poland's Trade with the European Union

Over 75% of FDI in Poland originates from the EU. The EU also predominates in the exports and imports of FDI companies. The objective of this article is to examine whether FDI is likely to replace trade or to create new trade flows. In particular, the article shows the influence of FDI on Poland's trade with the EU. The FDI impact on Polish trade can be seen as its contribution to export creation. Moreover, externalities caused by trade and FDI inflow are influencing Polish specialisation patterns, which is important in the process of integrating the economy into the world market.     

FDI,SECTORAL OUTPUT AND REAL EXCHANGE RATE DYNAMICS UNDER FINANCIAL OPENNESS

This paper adopts an alternative approach to the study of the impact of capital inflow on the real exchange rate by foremost, analysing the effect of FDI inflow on the ratio of tradables to nontradables, and then estimating the relationship between the tradable‐nontradable ratio and the real exchange rate, while accounting for the role of financial openness. Based on data for a group of developing countries, the findings show that an increase in FDI inflow is associated with a decrease in the tradable‐nontradable ratio, and that an increase in the tradable‐nontradable ratio leads to a depreciation of the real exchange rate; this effect being greater with an increase in financial openness. This suggests that an increase in FDI inflow could result in an expansion of the nontradable sector, which would be associated with a greater appreciation of the real exchange rate under a higher level of financial openness.