International Competition in the Australian Wire Market 1880–1914

By 1914, over 35 per cent of Britain's net national wealth was held abroad: a proportion unequalled by any country before or since. This essay suggests that this substantial volume of overseas investment was by no means as harmful to the British economy as many earlier scholars have maintained. If the modern definition of foreign direct investment is used, namely that which involved control over the assets acquired, getting on for half of Britain's overseas investment stock turns out to have been direct, and hence the result of positive entrepreneurial effort, for example to secure raw materials abroad or to surmount tariff barriers. This general discussion is supplemented by estimates of the industrial and geographical composition of Britain's foreign direct investment.     

Doing business in Brazil: A strategic approach

Brazil has the largest economy in South America, and the second largest in Latin America, offering one of the most promising markets in the world. Along with China and India, Brazil is ranked among the nations with the highest predicted development rates in the next 25 years. In the early 2000s, Brazil accounted for 56% of all foreign direct investment flows to South America and 52.5% of the foreign direct investment stock in South America. Brazil is also a key player in the design and development of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), which is scheduled to be effective by 2005. The FTAA is expected to be the world's largest regional trading block. In 2002, Brazil was ranked twelfth amongst the largest economies in the world. Brazil is one of the world's “Big Five” emerging markets, along with China, India, Mexico, and Indonesia. In the past decade, Brazil was second to China among emerging economies for received foreign direct investment. This article elaborates on the main aspects of doing business in Brazil and discusses some of the challenges and opportunities facing the Brazilian economy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

美国对华直接投资与贸易增长变化分析

美国是中国主要的贸易伙伴国和外资来源国之一,研究美国FDI对中美贸易的影响,有助于中国合理制定对美国的贸易和投资政策.文章从美国对华直接投资的情况入手,重点分析了美国对华直接投资与中美贸易的相关性及中国对美国出口增加的原因和中国从美国进口增加的原因.并从投资角度研究了中美贸易的发展潜力.     

Mineral Production,Organisation and Technological Change: The Coeur D'Alene District of Idaho, 1890–1933

This paper reviews the early history of Imperial Oil as a Canadian subsidiary of the American firm. Jersey Standard, in the context of the more recent debate in Canada over the consequences of foreign direct investment and the nature of parent-subsidiary relationships in a multinational enterprise. The paper traces the history of Imperial Oil prior to and after the Jersey Standard merger of 1899, focusing on the reorganisation of Imperial's domestic refining and distributing structure and its investment in producing fields in South America under the leadership of Walter Teagle, who later became chief executive of Jersey Standard, during the period 1911–17. The paper concludes that the impact of the Teagle era on the Jersey Standard–Imperial relationship was twofold: the Canadian company achieved a much higher degree of autonomy and vertical integration than had been the case prior to 1911; and paradoxically the interlinkages of the parent and subsidiary were reinforced.     

Comprehending the outward FDI from Latin America and OCED: A comparative perspective

This study examines the determinants of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from Latin American countries and compares it with their OECD counterparts. Our analysis is based on a sample of 45 countries, 13 from Latin America and 32 from the OECD, over the period 2001–2012. We find that the outward FDI from Latin America is more likely to be located in geographically proximate countries and in countries with similar culture and language than that from their OECD counterparts. We also show that Latin American outward FDI is less likely to be resource seeking. This presumably reflects the rich natural resource endowments and agricultural potential in major Latin American countries. Further, outward FDI from Latin America is more likely to be concentrated in countries with a similar corruption environment than that from their OECD counterparts. This might indicate a broadly similar nature of corruption across Latin America due to shared cultural, political and economic legacies.     

Injecting demand through spillovers: Foreign direct investment,domestic socio-political conditions,and host-country entrepreneurial activity

This study examines how foreign direct investment (FDI) spurs entrepreneurial activity in host countries. We also investigate why this relationship varies across countries because of domestic socio-political conditions. The findings from our panel analyses of 104 countries from 2000 to 2009 are consistent with our predictions that foreign direct investment positively relates to business creation and this positive effect is strongest in countries with poor institutional support, weak political stability, and low general human capital. Our work provides new insights into how cross-border investments and domestic socio-political conditions jointly influence entrepreneurial activity, especially in emerging and developing economies.     

The spatial redistribution of Japanese direct investment in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 2010

Japanese firms have a firmly established reputation as influential foreign investors, originating from the surge of foreign direct investment into North America and Europe during the 1980s. This paper examines trends in Japanese corporate behaviour in the United Kingdom, a key investment destination for Japanese firms, over the period 1991 to 2010. Our ‘demographic’ analysis of Japanese firms' investments includes both investment and exit strategies. It is found that Japanese firms have reconfigured their UK presence in response to a rapidly changing market environment, with an enduring proclivity to cluster, notwithstanding government incentives intended to channel investment towards specific regions of the country.     

Does foreign direct investment stimulate new firm creation? In search of spillovers through industrial and geographical linkages

This paper examines the spillover effects of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on the entrepreneurial activities of new firm creation through both industrial and geographical linkages. Using a dataset of 44,434 newly created small firms in 234 regions of South Korea in 2000–2004, this study finds that while the spillover impacts of FDI in the low-tech industry are positive and significant across almost all four possible combinations of the intra-/inter-regional and intra-/inter-sectoral channels, the impacts in the high-tech industry are largely intra-sectoral within the host region and across neighboring regions. Moreover, all statistically significant spillover effects follow an inverted ‘U’-shaped curvilinear trend.     

Eu widening to the East: Must latin America be concerned?

The pending widening of the European Union to the East has revived concerns in Latin America that its trade and foreign direct investment relations with the EU may suffer as a result. Trade patterns suggest, however, that Latin America's exports to the EU are complementary to the exports of Central and Eastern European countries and the new investment opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe appear to be inducing additional foreign direct investment, rather than causing its diversion.     

The organisation of British textile exports to the River Plate and Chile: Merchant houses in operation,c. 1810–59

During c. 1810–59 over 260 British merchant houses operated in the River Plate or Chile, and many more in the rest of Latin America. These were times when Anglo-Latin American economic relations remained largely commercial, since the region was an important commercial partner of Britain. British investment was unimportant during this period in the region. The main economic activity of these mercantile houses was the import of textiles in exchange for bullion, specie, bills of exchange and local produce. Yet the textile trade has received little attention, despite the importance of the region as a market for British manufacturers. This paper describes in detail the relations between textile manufacturers and/or merchants in Britain and merchants on the spot, in particular for the marketing oftextiles, the backbone of the business of British merchants operating in Latin America. This paper focuses on the particular case of the Southern Cone during c. 1810–59.     

Unions and Management in Engineering: A Case Study, 1964–79

Britain' direct investment overseas has become the subject of debate. Not only is much more known about British multinationals, but the concepts of investment groups and free-standing companies have further enriched the discussions. This study examines an example of British capital export – to the Brazilian coffee trade before and after the First World War. The case study illustrates the difficulties in developing typologies for direct investment abroad, and it also considers the managerial and organisational problems facing such companies for the businessmen who developed them. Further, the article speculates that the retreat of British commercial enterprise from Latin America before 1914 may have been more selective than was once thought.     

Exchange rate volatility in Latin American and the Caribbean region: Evidence from 1985 to 2005

Using a total of 28 Latin American and Caribbean countries, this study finds a negative relationship between trade and exchange rate volatility. The econometric tool for this specific analysis is the widely used gravity model, in a panel data context. A similar condition is detected between inbound foreign direct investment and exchange rate volatility. The results of the study support the hypothesis that significant exchange rate volatility has a negative impact on the economies of the region and that achieving exchange rate stability should be a goal of policy makers in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean.     

The service sector of Cuba: An analysis and critique

The Cuban economy has experienced a significant increase in foreign direct investment over the past decade due to the end of the Soviet Union and the establishment of more liberal trade policies. Although the U.S. embargo of trade with Cuba still exists, there has been movement lately that suggests the end of the four‐decades‐old policy. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current Cuban business environment and to identify potential entrepreneurial opportunities in the service sector. Major trade partners are also reviewed and managerial implications discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An analysis of the predictors of software piracy within Latin America

Corruption has become an increasingly salient issue in recent years due to the increasing pressure placed on top management teams of multinational firms to maintain high moral standards in all facets of their operations. The level and scope of corruption in a particular country is worthy of consideration as companies seek potential export markets and global partners. While macro-level academic research related to causes of corruption has burgeoned in the past decade, there is a lack of depth and breadth with respect to corruption research in Latin America. The current study analyzes patterns of software piracy (a notorious type of corruption) for 20 Latin American nations. Results indicate that economic growth, foreign direct investment, Internet usage, and development assistance relate to software piracy rates in Latin America.     

The Role of the Investment Climate and Tax Incentives in the Foreign Direct Investment Decision: Evidence from South Africa

In this article, the author uses microdata and firm interviews to explore the role of foreign direct investment drivers in South Africa. Reinforcing the majority of the foreign direct investment literature, she finds that pecuniary incentives play a negligible role in the investment decision for the majority of firms. The micro level of analysis enables specification of the investment climate constraints that are decisive—notably political and regulatory uncertainty, skills, labor regulation, and exchange volatility. This area-specific analysis contains potential lessons for other sub-Saharan countries.     

Cross-Country Evidence on the Effectiveness of Foreign Investment Policies

This study empirically evaluates the effectiveness of government policies toward foreign enterprises and foreign direct investment activity. Foreign investment policies are difficult to quantify, but we overcome this difficulty by employing an index that reflects a country's general regulatory environment and treatment of foreign businesses. The evidence on the effectiveness of foreign investment policy measures is captured by a panel regression model, which pools together a cross-section of 153 countries over the period 1995–2001. The statistically significant explanatory power of the policy index is robust to the presence of a host of conditioning variables, some of which serve as fundamental foreign investment determinants that lie largely outside the direct control of national policy.     

Foreign Direct Investment Spillovers: Evidence from the British Retail Sector

This paper discusses the impact of foreign‐ownership presence on the productivity performance of British‐owned domestic retailers. In particular, we analyse the existence of productivity spillovers, in the form of knowledge transfer, by using establishment‐level data from the Annual Respondents Database over the period 1997–2003. The results confirm the presence of such spillovers and highlight their positive and significant impact on the productivity of domestic firms, although these spillovers are mostly confined to the region in which foreign subsidiaries locate. There is also evidence that the productivity benefit from regional foreign direct investment spillovers increases with the absorptive capacity of domestic retailers.     

The advent of private equity in Latin America

As an investment banker in London, the author witnessed the massive run-up in Latin American public equities during the early 1990s and began to consider the potential for adapting the European model of development capital to Latin America. The author and a small number of other investors began looking beyond the public equity boom, recognizing that the biggest returns had already been made by local entrepreneurs who had entered the market early. Following in the steps of the local entrepreneurs who had been investing in and turning around local companies for years, the author and other investors established investment funds and sought out privately owned Latin American companies that were either poorly capitalized or mismanaged. In a matter of four years, foreign and indigenous pools of funds dedicated to private, unquoted investments in Latin America has grown from near zero to an estimated $1.5 billion. And the pool continues to grow. The author tracks this investment phenomenon and assesses the prospects for these and future Latin American funds, in light of the economic and political stabilization of many Latin American countries and the ambitious infrastructure development programs across the region.     

The macroeconomics of commercial policy and the trade balance: A policy perspective

Given the continuing growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, there is a growing interest in examining its impact on the rate of economic growth. The immense literature on economic growth in the United States is composed of studies that concentrate on measuring the domestic variables that affect U.S. economic growth. However, the impact of foreign direct investment on the economic growth of the United States has not received the attention that is deserves. The purpose of this study is: (1) to examine the determinants of economic growth in the United States over time, and (2) to see if there is any time-series support for the FDI-led growth hypothesis in the United States. To achieve these goals the study uses a model that is based on the postulates of de Mello. Employing a 40-year period of annual data, the model is estimated by using the Beach Mackinnon technique which corrects for autocorrelation. The estimation results suggest the following conclusions: 1. The major determinants of economic growth in the United States are total factor productivity growth, domestic investment growth, and foreign direct investment growth. 2. Causal relationships between foreign direct investment growth and economic growth is uni-directional, running from foreign direct investment to economic growth. 3. Causal relationships between foreign direct investment growth and total factor productivity growth is uni-directional, running from foreign direct investment to total factor productivity. These findings suggest that foreign direct investment growth has a significant impact on the United States economic growth. Additionally, foreign direct investment has a significant impact on total factor productivity in the United States, further contributing to the United States’ economic growth. This calls on the U.S. policy makers to devise policies that are conducive to increasing the amount of foreign direct investment in this country.     

经济发展水平对我国对外直接投资影响的实证研究

近30年来,我国经济一直保持较快的增长速度,我国不仅作为世界经济最具活力的地区而吸引了大量来自世界各地的投资,而且,正在成为新兴的以对外直接投资来参与世界经济的重要力量。通过运用格兰杰因果关系,对我国经济发展水平与我国对外直接投资间的关系进行了实证分析和检验,也进一步说明了我国的经济增长与对外直接投资具有明显的相关性,且经济增长成为推动我国对外直接投资的原因。