Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Exports? Evidence from African Countries

This paper empirically examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on exports in Africa. Using the system‐generalised method of moments estimator for linear dynamic panel data on a sample of 53 African countries and five‐year periods from 1970 to 2009, the paper finds that higher FDI inflows are positively and significantly linked with higher exports of goods and services. A large part of the FDI effect is driven by its spillover effects on exports. The paper also finds the lagged value of exports, a competitive currency, as well as increases in domestic investment and physical infrastructure, to be factors stimulating African exports.     

Does Foreign Direct Investment Affect Wage Inequality? An Empirical Investigation

We use a panel of more than 100 countries for the period 1980–2002 to analyse the relationship between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and wage inequality. We particularly check whether this relationship is nonlinear, in line with a theoretical discussion. We find that the effect of FDI differs according to the level of development: we depict two different patterns, one for OECD (developed) and one for non‐OECD (developing) countries. Results suggest the presence of a nonlinear effect in developing countries: wage inequality increases with FDI inward stock, with such effect diminishing with further increases in FDI. For developed countries, wage inequality decreases with FDI inward stock, and there is no robust evidence to show that this effect is nonlinear.     

Foreign Investment Seeks Legal Protection

In July 1999, Shanghai Unilever, a foreign- funded enterprise in China, brought a lawsuitagainst the Commercial Import and ExportTrading Company at the Guangzhou Economicand Technology Development Zone for infringingits trademark right of Lux and won. The verdictof the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Courtreads: the defendant should at once stop the act ofright infringement, compensate RMB50,000 to theplaintiff, and make a public apology onnewspapers. A spokesman of Unilever expressed…     

Does the Impact of Employment Protection Legislation on Foreign Direct Investment Differ by the Skill Intensity of Industries? An Empirical Note

In line with previous literature, we find that strict employment protection deters foreign direct investment. This finding is consistent with the view that rigid labour markets result in high adjustment and exit costs which discourage firm investment. Moreover, our results are consistent with the view that the deterrent effect of rigid labour markets depends on the skill intensity of an industry.     

The Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on International Migration: Does Education Matter?

Using migration data in 1990 and 2000, we find that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in non‐OECD countries affects the out‐migration of individuals with tertiary and secondary education to OECD countries originating the investments, but has no significant effect on the out‐migration of individuals with primary education. Distinguishing between linkage and home effects, our results show a dominant home effect of FDI for individuals with tertiary education, but a stronger linkage effect for those with secondary education. The existing stock of former migrants in foreign countries influences the out‐migration of individuals with primary education.     

Factors Favoring Greece’s Inward Foreign Direct Investment in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis: An Exploratory Survey

Greece has suffered the worst from the late 2000s global financial crisis. Despite the completion of the economic adjustment program the rate of recovery in Greece is still weak. The liquidity constraints in the Greek economy imply that the investment shock, which will accelerate its recovery rate, will be an outcome of investment inflows by privatizations and/or other opportunities arising to foreign investors (inward FDI) due to the devaluation of the assets in Greece caused by the crisis. However, the level of attracted by the Greek economy has always been well below the European Union average. This paper investigates the factors favoring inward FDI in Greece after the crisis. A survey is made by the use of a questionnaire for the collection of primary data on the activity of multinationals in Greece and non-parametric methods are used for investigating the attractiveness of the Greek market and the decision to invest.     

Chinese Private Firms’ Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Does Firm Ownership and Size Matter?

This article investigates and explains the behaviors, motives, and characteristics of Chinese privately owned enterprises’ (POEs’) outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), and compares this with the behaviors, motives, and characteristics of Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs), using the institutional perspective and resources‐based view. Through in‐depth interviews with senior managers and an extensive secondary data analysis of Chinese POEs’ OFDI, we found that Chinese POEs are increasingly active in committing both market‐ and strategic asset–seeking OFDI due to the unfavorable institutional environment they face in China and the different types of resources possessed. POEs cluster with their business partners or domestic peers for international market expansion and adopt several approaches to acquire strategic assets. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does Real Exchange Rate Volatility Affect Foreign Direct Investment? Evidence from Four Developed Economies

This study examines the impact of shocks to exchange rate uncertainty (volatility) on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The analysis is conducted using vector autoregressive models that contain the price level, real output, the real exchange rate, the volatility of the real exchange rate, the interest rate, and FDI. The results from variance decompositions yield public policy implications. In Canada, Japan, and the United States, innovations to exchange rate uncertainty explain significant portions of the forecast error variance in FDI at longer time horizons. The impulse response functions indicate that, to the extent that shocks to exchange rate volatility have an impact on FDI, the impact is positive and takes place with a lag.     

Do Retail Foreign Direct Investment Restrictions Affect Retail Channel Structure?

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing retail channel structure research by investigating the impact of retail foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions on retail channel structure as well as the moderating impact of a country's level of economic development on this relationship. Using a panel data set of 79 countries over the period 1999–2012, we show that retail FDI restrictions can influence retail channel structure development and that the relationship between retail FDI restrictions and retail channel structure is moderated by a country's level of economic development.     

To What Extent Can Foreign Direct Investment Help Achieve International Development Goals?

For FDI to help alleviate absolute poverty and stimulate economic growth in developing countries, two conditions have to be met. First, developing countries need to be attractive to foreign investors. Second, the host‐country environment in which foreign investors operate must be conducive to favourable FDI effects with regard to overall investment, economic spillovers and income growth. This paper argues that it is more difficult to benefit from FDI than to attract FDI. The widely perceived concentration of FDI in few developing countries tends to obscure that, in relative terms, various small and poor countries are fairly attractive to FDI. Yet, the mobilisation of domestic resources remains by far, more important than attracting FDI for financing investment and stimulating economic growth. Furthermore, high inward FDI is no guarantee for poverty alleviation and positive growth effects. In particular, the empirical evidence suggests that host‐country conditions typically prevailing in poor countries, including weak institutions and an insufficient endowment of complementary factors of production, constrain the growth‐enhancing and poverty‐alleviating effects of FDI. The crux is that creating an environment in which FDI may deliver social returns will take considerable time exactly where development needs are most pressing.     

Foreign Direct Investment in British Retailing, 1850–1962

This article describes a newly compiled dataset on foreign multinationals in British retailing and compares the patterns of inward investment in retailing with those in manufacturing. Foreign retailers were present in Britain well before foreign manufacturers, but their numbers did not grow as dramatically after 1890. Strikingly, very few pre-World War Two foreign entrants into UK retailing were actually retailers. The great majority were instead foreign manufacturers pursuing international markets through investing in dedicated distribution channels. These hybrid multinationals retained their home manufacturing base and mostly restricted their internationalisation to retailing.     

Foreign Direct Investment Will Reach US$63.81 Bin in 2007

Recently, Center for Fore casting Science Chinese .Academy of Sciencespredicted that China will absorb foreign direct investment （FDI） about US$63.81 billion increasing by 4% compared with the number in 2006. The increasing trend is basically the same as 2006.     

Foreign Direct Investment Will Reach US$63.81 Bln In 2007

Recently,Center for Fore casting Science Chinese Academy of Sciences predicted that China will absorb foreign direct investment (FDI) about US$63.81 billion increas- ing by 4% compared with the number in 2006.The increasing trend is basically the same as 2006. This conclusion is calculated through econometric model based     

No Risk,No Fun? Foreign Direct Investment in Central and Eastern Europe

In the course of transition from planned economies to market economies, foreign direct investment played an important role and contributed to international economic integration in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper investigates the determinants of FDI in Central and Eastern Europe, a region which in large part still lacks strong institutions. The empirical analysis presented in this article fi nds evidence that country default risk is not necessarily a hindrance to FDI. In contrast, factors like market size, labour cost and trade liberalisation do matter for FDI engagement in the region.     

Can Globalisation and Global Localisation Explain Foreign Direct Investment? Japanese Firms in Europe

This paper uses logit regression on the responses of 383 Japanese manufacturing firms located in the member countries of the European Union to investigate the motives for foreign direct investment. Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) data, as published in their 8th Annual Survey (October 1992) classified by industry, were used. The results confirm that decisions leading to FDI cannot be explained by a single factor and, furthermore, different types of FDI are influenced by different combinations of motives.     

Year-End Review： China＇s Foreign Trade and Investment 2010

Wathering through the global financial tsunami in 2009, and tiding over the 2010, China＇s foreign trade and foreign investment sectors were strenuously blazing its trail to a new phase.     

Still Big in Bangkok? An Empirical Analysis of the Regional Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in Thailand

This paper analyses regional Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Thailand. Its determinants are identified using a unique assembled panel dataset comprising all 76 Thai provinces during the period 1985–2005. The work is premised on the view that foreign investors consider various determinants of location choices in each province (including labour costs, Gross Provincial Products (GPP) per head, areas of industrial estates, communication and transportation issues, population characteristics, educational attainment, population density and distance from the centre of town to the main ports of Thailand) as well as government incentives, before deciding to undertake FDI in a given region. Our econometric model estimates suggest that government regional policy, and the effect of zoning in particular, however, has a significant and positive effect on regional FDI, drawing FDI to those zones where the greatest incentives are on offer. The other possible determinants of FDI amongst regions are largely shown to be insignificant.     

Trade Performance： Highlights in the Crisis

On January 13, China Customs issued the annual profile of China＇s foreign trade, including import and export, in 2008. According to the Customs statistics, trade volume last year amounted to US$2.562 trillion, a year-on-year growth of 17.8%. In the total amount, value of US$1.42 trillion goes for China＇s export growth, 17.2% up, while the import takes up US$1.13 trillion, 18.5% up. The trade surplus stood at US$295.47 billion in 2008, increased by 12.5% year-on-year, with the net increase value ofUS$32.83 billion.     

Private Foreign Investment in India: Pain or Panacea?

Private foreign capital, whose presence in Indian industry was long regarded with concern and suspicion, is now presented as a panacea for India's poor industrial and export performance. This paper examines available evidence to compare the behaviour and performance of domestic and foreign‐controlled firms in India over the last five decades. It discusses the contribution of foreign capital to aggregate investment, balance of payments and economic growth. We assess the effects of government policy towards foreign investment, review recent changes, and outline implications for the future.