Does Outbound Foreign Direct Investment Crowd Out Domestic Investment in China? Evidence from Time Series Analysis

China’s rising outbound foreign direct investment (ODI) has raised concerns as to whether it substitutes or complements domestic investment (DI). We demonstrated specification weaknesses in the previous studies and present fresh evidence on ODI–DI nexus for China. Utilizing ARDL approach for time series macroeconomic data, the study detects long-run negative one-way causality running from ODI to DI. The results provide robust evidence supporting the view that Chinese outbound foreign direct investment crowds out DI in the long run.     

How Does Country Risk Matter for Foreign Direct Investment?

Using the overall FDI inflows for 89 countries during the period from 1985 to 2007, we empirically investigate the effects on inward FDI of various components of political and financial risk. We examine the effects of not only the level of these risks but also their changes over time. One of the major findings is that among the political and financial risks, only the political risk is adversely associated with FDI inflows. Specifically, not only the initially low level of political risk, but also a decrease in the level of political risk helps to bring a greater amount of FDI inflows. On the other hand, lower financial risk does not attract FDI inflows, especially to developing countries. Among the various components of political risk, in the sample of developing countries only, it is found that internal conflict, corruption, military in politics, and bureaucracy quality are inversely related to inward FDI flows.     

Does Outward Foreign Direct Investment Facilitate China's Export Upgrading?

This paper empirically investigates the impact of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on its export sophistication. Using a provincial‐level panel dataset and applying fixed effects and instrumental variable regression techniques, the study finds that, on average, OFDI has no significant impact on China's export sophistication. However, after the full sample is divided into different regions, the study finds that OFDI has a positive and significant impact on export sophistication in the developed coastal region, but no such impact is observed in the less developed inland regions. Further investigation using a panel threshold model reveals that only when GDP, per capita GDP, human capital, and the research and development intensity of a home economy reach a certain level can OFDI promote export sophistication. The findings suggest that accelerating eco nomic development and increasing absorptive capacity can facilitate the contribution of OFDI to China's export sophistication.     

Do Institutions Matter for Foreign Direct Investment?

Using a panel of 69 countries during 1981 and 2005, we investigate the role of institutions in determining foreign direct investment (FDI). We find that institutions are a robust predictor of FDI and that the most significant institutional aspects are linked to propriety rights. Using a novel data set, we also study the impact of institutions on FDI at the sectoral level. We find that institutions do not have a significant impact on FDI in the primary sector but that institutional quality matters for FDI in manufacturing, and particularly in services.     

How Does Corruption Influence the Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth?

Abstract

We investigate the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in 130 countries from 1995 to 2008, considering the role of corruption in each country as an absorptive factor. The estimation results indicate that although FDI alone does not promote economic growth, it has a significant effect on economic growth if the interaction term between FDI and corruption is considered. Specifically, FDI has a positive impact on economic growth when corruption is severe, but a negative impact if corruption is below a certain threshold.     

Does Foreign Direct Investment Provide Desirable Development Finance？ The Case of China

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is often considered as a cost-effective and risk-reducing source for development finance. This paper,however,shows that FDI finance often entails underestimated risks and costs. FDI might react sensitively to business cycles and might not be as "permanent" as conventionally believed. FDI might also accelerate other forms of capital flow in times of financial difficulties and,hence,destabilize financial order. In addition to the risks,compensations to FDI and the high import-dependency of FDI-related trade lead to a considerable drain on the balance of payments. Moreover,the reliance on foreign capital for development finance is equivalent to building a Ponzi financing scheme and,therefore,is unsustainable. Given the fact that FDI financing is risky and costly and China does not lack savings,it is suggested in the present paper that China's efforts in attracting FDI should not aim at external capital provisioning.     

Can China's Diplomatic Partnership Strategy Benefit Outward Foreign Direct Investment?

In the context of global integration, whether a diplomatic partnership strategy can promote outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and how it works are very important issues for China. Based on a dataset featuring China's partnerships collected from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, we establish an empirical framework to assess the role of China's diplomatic strategy in its OFDI arising from partnerships since 1993. The results show that the establishment or upgrade of partnerships has had a positive effect on Chinese firms’ decisions on OFDI for at least the short term, especially for firms with higher demand for policy guarantees from the government, such as non‐central firms and non‐Beijing firms. The results also show that the increase in OFDI is concentrated in host countries with higher political risks, such as developing countries, neighboring countries, and Belt and Road countries, which is consistent with China's diplomatic focus. Our research proves that China's diplomatic strategy can assist firms to invest abroad.     

Why Do Chinese Private Enterprises Seek Outward Foreign Direct Investment?

China is currently in a period of economic transformation and the reform of the factor market still lags behind that of the product market. This study explores the reasons causing China's private enterprise to expand abroad from the perspective of domestic factor market imperfection. Using data for Chinese listed firms between 2002 and 2020, it examines whether outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has been undertaken by private enterprises as a response to domestic factor market imperfection. It finds that private enterprises located in regions with greater factor market imperfection have had a greater tendency to engage in OFDI. This effect has been more pronounced among firms with high productivity or high innovation capability, and among medium and small private enterprises.     

Research on Spillover Effect of Foreign Direct Investment

The paper figure out there is potential for significant spillover effects from FDI into host countries. The paper summarizes some of the aggregate evidence of technology and productivity spillovers from FDI, and we focus more closely on the effects of FDI on human capital development in the host countries, both through linkages and various kinds of training, Section 4 is the summarization and conclusion of the paper.     

Do Inland Provinces Benefit from Coastal Foreign Direct Investment in China?

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China is heavily concentrated in the coastal regions. Do inland provinces benefit from coastal FDI? We use a provincial‐level panel dataset and employ the fixed‐effects instrumental variables regression technique to investigate the interregional spillovers from coastal FDI to inland provinces. The study finds that, on average, coastal FDI has a negative impact on the economic growth of inland provinces. In addition, depending on the different trade activities engaged in (i.e. whether processing trade or ordinary trade), coastal FDI has different impacts on the economic growth of inland provinces.     

Are Investment Promotion Agencies Effective in Promoting Outward Foreign Direct Investment? The Cases of Japan and Korea

In this paper we examine the role of investment promotion agencies (IPA) in promoting outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan and Korea. Looking at two home countries enables us to control for both country‐pair time‐invariant characteristics and host‐country time‐varying characteristics. Our empirical results suggest that home‐country IPA tend to be more effective in promoting outward FDI in politically risky host countries. However, this finding depends on whether the home‐country firm is listed or unlisted. More specifically, we find that the positive effect of home‐country IPA on outward FDI in politically risky countries is limited to unlisted home‐country firms, which tend to be less productive.     

Does Aid for Roads Attract Foreign or Domestic Firms? Evidence from Cambodia

Less developed countries have received substantial foreign aid for transport infrastructure, making its quantitative assessment important. To investigate the effect of aid for road infrastructure on the location of foreign and domestic firms, this study employs the first comprehensive census on all business establishments in Cambodia for 2011 and measures the geographical distribution of aid disbursements in roads. Estimating a negative binomial model, we find that aid disbursements in roads have little influence on the entry of foreign and domestic firms across communes. Compared with the aid effect, the location of firms is more strongly influenced by other determinants such as population size, electricity access, and labor supply.