Religion and foreign direct investment

This study examines the effect of religion on foreign direct investment (FDI). Using a large sample of directional FDI flows and religious data between 1985 and 2019, we calculate the religious distance between home and host countries and find that FDI flows are smaller for country pairs with greater religious distance. This finding remains intact after a host of variables affecting FDI are controlled. Moreover, the negative effect of religious differences is less pronounced if the host country has higher religious diversity or both countries have a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in force. Finally, we construct a country-level measure for religiosity and find an asymmetric effect of religiosity on FDI flows. Overall, our study suggests that both religious differences and the level of religiosity play important roles in explaining international FDI flows. (JEL F21, F41, Z12)     

Controversial nuclear ban treaty

The non-proliferation of atomic weapons in the hopes of achieving worldwide disarmament is the general aim of the nuclear ban treaty; this has the support of many nations. However, discussion about the projected agreement has recently moved further and further away from the military sphere and towards the possible economic effects of the planned treaty structure. The anxieties and reservations expressed by many countries—in particular European countries—are directed mainly against control over the peaceful use of atomic energy in countries without nuclear weapons. The agreement to ban atomic weapons entails a large number of purely economic considerations. Foremost is anxiety about the unrestricted progress of research and development in the sphere of peaceful uses of nuclear technology in those industrial countries which are really very little concerned with the real purpose of the nuclear ban treaty. The following interview may bring us one step nearer to an understanding of the economic aspects of the nuclear ban treaty, the full extent of whose consequences to research and industry cannot yet be foretold.     

The moderating effect of bilateral investment treaty stringency on the relationship between political instability and subsidiary ownership choice

We investigate whether the degree to which a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) protects against expropriation (i.e., its “stringency”) influences the international strategy of multinational enterprises (MNEs) as they invest in countries with varying levels of political instability. We draw on institutional logic and insights from political economics to hypothesize that BIT stringency will moderate the established positive relationship between host country political instability and minority ownership. Analysis of a sample of 289 foreign investments made by AEX-listed Dutch MNEs in 34 countries between 2004 and 2013 provides support: a more stringent BIT will encourage the MNE to choose a majority stake as political instability rises. Robustness tests provide further support for our argument. The results have both managerial and policy implications relating to the role that BIT stringency plays in determining MNE strategy.     

The impact of bilateral tax treaties: A multi-country analysis of FDI inflows into India

This paper models the role of tax treaties in promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) with the help of panel data for 14 countries for the period 1993–2011. A fixed effects (least squares dummy variable) model is developed that captures macroeconomic factors such as gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income (PCI) in ratio form of home to host country. It also includes bilateral tax treaties as a determinant of FDI inflow. The results show that GDP is a major determinant that is demand driven and per capita income is a major determinant that is supply driven. FDI openness of the home countries and population are also significant determinants. The introduction of the treaty had a positive impact on FDI inflows into India. We get largely significant and positive results for the ‘age of the treaty effect’, especially, in the case of Germany, Switzerland and Japan. The main contribution of the paper is to show that both presence and ‘age of treaty’ are important determinants of FDI flows to India. Further, fundamentals like GDP and PCI are major variables that influence FDI inflows.     

The CDM：How Could China Utilize it to Finance Energy Efficiency？

Prelude of Copenhagen In the first round of China-US Strategic ＆ Economic Dialogue, America＇s most senior climate-change officials were meeting their Chinese counterparts. The two countries are by far the world＇s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. They will determine whether a worthwhile global treaty to limit emissions can be concluded as planned in Copenhagen in December.     

Cashing in on the Deep, Deep Sea——An interview with Ling Kongshan, President of the Board of Directors, Shanghai Aquatic Products Group

The annual International Fishery Exposition and International Aquaculture Exhibition will held in Shanghai onThe biggest of its kind in Asia and an importantmercial event for global fishery trade, the expo this year is expected to attract over 3,000 participants from 45 countries and regions including Russia, Germany,     

Implementing Carbon Tariffs: A Fool’s Errand?

The absence of a global treaty on climate change abatement raises the chances that jurisdictions across the world will adopt substantially different approaches to greenhouse gas emissions. This further increases the possibility that some governments might consider taxes on imports based on carbon content from countries that have not introduced similarly restrictive climate change policies. Such border taxes certainly appeal to domestic industries facing higher charges for their own carbon emissions. This research demonstrates that there are enormous practical difficulties surrounding such plans. Various policies are evaluated based on the following constraints: adherence to World Trade Organisation compliance, administrative plausibility, help in meeting environmental goals and ability to deal with domestic pressures. The steel industry is used as a case study in this analysis. All considered policies arguably fail to meet at least one of these constraints, bringing into question the plausibility that a carbon border tax can be practical policy.     

Brexit Poker — Wer hat die besseren Karten in den Austrittsverhandlungen?

The political, economic and legal situation of Great Britain vis-à-vis European Union in the aftermath of the membership referendum and awaiting the commencement of withdrawal negotiations is interesting. The authors summarise the legal controversy in the UK over the powers and procedures needed to be complied with in order to duly trigger the Brexit. They then sketch the legal framework as provided by the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to reconstruct the decision-making architecture under which parties to the upcoming negotiations will have to make their choices. After outlining the opportunity cost for Great Britain associated with leaving the Union, in particular those regarding the financial institutions and foreign direct investments, they conclude that decision-making architecture governing the upcoming withdrawal negotiations puts Brussels in pole position vis-à-vis London. It is likely that Britain will have to accept transfer payments to the EU similar to, if not higher than the net transfers that have been due so far. Some degree of the compliance with the acquis communautaire, at least with regard to the treaty’s fundamental freedoms (goods, workers, services, establishment and capital) will most likely also be expected from London, if it wants to benefit from access to the European market after the termination of its EU membership.     

Economic performance over time: Does porter's diamond hold at the national level?

This research examines the conditions that contribute to the performance of countries and their industries in international markets. Building on Porter's dynamic diamond, 1960 and 1985 data on 49 countries are used to develop country-level factors related to national economic performance. Three factors were identified: infrastructure/demand, competitive investment, and education. The analysis considers how these factors are related to gross domestic product, net exports, and foreign direct investment. It also assesses changes over time and differences between industrialized and developing countries. The relationships between the three factors and GDP were substantially the same for both industrialized and developing countries, but not for net exports and foreign direct investment. These findings suggest that the relationships between the factors and national performance have changed over time and that there are important differences between developing and industrialized countries.     

The EEC pilot-project on Consumer Education in schools

In 1979 a network of 28 schools was established in the member countries of the EEC in order to develop models of consumer education. This pilot-project shows that consumer education should be both cross-curricular and multi-disciplinary. Even if consumer education has both cognitive, skill- and attitude-orientated goals, it has been the fundamental belief of most participants in the pilot-project that consumer education should primarily be activity-based, skill-orientated, problem-, and decision-based as well as orientated against the real-life situations of the pupils. Most teaching activities have been integrated in some project-work technique, where the methods used typically have been tools in an empirical field strategy which aims at giving pupils a greater understanding of their own situation as consumers. A teachers' manual based on the research results will be published in all official EEC-languages and in all member slates during 1985.     

Trade Liberalization,Nature of Mergers and Employment

This paper investigates the roles of comparative advantage and market size in the international location of manufacturing production. Building on the conventional Helpman and Krugman (1985) general equilibrium framework, our analysis extends the present literature by incorporating both effects in the same model, while allowing trade costs to vary almost continuously from autarky to free trade. The main result of our exercise is that market size effects offset comparative advantage if countries have similar factor proportions. A large country with a slight comparative disadvantage in manufacturing production may thus be a net exporter of manufactures. A small country with the same comparative disadvantage would be a net importer of manufactures. When countries are very dissimilar in their relative factor endowments, land-abundant countries specialize in the production of food, irrespective of market size, if manufactures are a labour-intensive sector. Labour-rich countries of any size are manufacture cores. However, land-abundant countries with large markets can sustain a domestic manufacturing industry until trade costs are very low, and in some cases only specialize in agriculture at free trade.     

Revisiting FDI-led growth hypothesis: the role of sector characteristics

Does foreign direct investment (FDI) lead to higher growth? What type of FDI really works? In this paper, we disaggregate FDIs based on their technological characteristics and investigate which kind of FDI leads to output growth. The results for the sample of OECD countries during the period 1985–2012 indicate that FDI inflows to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) using and producing manufacturing and service sectors (ICT-based), non-ICT using and producing manufacturing and service sectors (non-ICT-based) and other sectors (non-ICT-other) play no role in contributing to economic growth. However, we provide evidence that absorptive capacities of host countries work through ICT-based FDI inflows. Only if the host countries have sufficient level of human capital, financial resources and technological infrastructure, ICT-based FDI will foster economic growth. The results are robust to controlling missing values, studying the subsample of emerging market economies and consideration of endogeneity.     

Views of Trade Activity with the Soviet Union and China by U.S. Manufacturers

Given the recent developments in China and the treaty activity between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., it is important to understand the interest as well as the actual trade activity with these two countries. U.S. manufacturers that currently trade (as well as those that do not) with these countries were queried regarding their attitudes and interest in specific trade related activities. Based on an analysis and comparison of the resluts, the attitudes and trade activities are presented as well as the implications for the furture.     

Financial Development and the Social Cost of Financial Intermediation in Africa

This article investigates the effect of financial development on the social costs of financial intermediation across a large number of banks in Africa. The study distinguishes between countries that are financially developed and those that are not financially developed to examine the impact of financial development on the social costs of financial intermediation. A sample of 260 banks from 29 countries in Africa is used over an 8-year period from 2006 to 2013. We employ both Random Effect and GMM techniques to resolve the issues of unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity. We observe that overall, financial development reduces the social costs of intermediation. We also determine that the social costs of intermediation are lower for countries that have more developed financial systems compared to those with less developed financial systems. Our study is useful because it suggests that if countries want to reduce their social costs of intermediation, they should develop their financial systems.     

Federation and a wider union

Conclusion  I have ranged widely, perhaps too widely, over some of the key issues which confront the EU. But I feel strongly that without a profound debate over the future of the Union we will stumble from one crisis to the next, with real dangers for the stability of our Continent. Let us think deeply about the future of our Continent and let us seize the opportunity of the enlargement of the European Union at the same time. The six ministers of foreign affairs of the candidate countries considered Minister Fischer's proposals to be a useful and interesting example of positive thinking targeted at the future of Europe. This position of candidate countries is still another proof contradicting the claims of those who think those countries are not ready yet to discuss the development of integration, that they are too involved in the process of harmonisation with theacquis communautaire. I hope that this article will also contribute to the repudiation of this cliché. Poland does not solely wish to enter Europe. Poles wants to talk about its future. This article is a revised version of a speech held at the meeting of the European League for Economic Co-operation (ELEC) in Berlin, 16 June 2000.     

Investment Flows,Economic Growth,and Corruption in African Countries: An Analysis

ABSTRACT

The analysis of corruption in international business is a relatively new phenomenon, and for the past two decades, many studies have attempted to capture the economic impact of the corruption in a country. However, most of these studies have concentrated their analysis to the experiences of the developed countries. None or very few of the current works have addressed the corruption issue in the context of foreign direct investment and economic growth in the developing countries. This work examines theoretically, as well as empirically, the incidence of corruption in the context of foreign direct investment in the developing countries, especially several African countries that signed a treaty to reduce the incidence of corruption in their respective countries.     

Technological acquisition and investment: lessons from recent indian experience

Most of the existing studies on investment functions ignore the role of technology acquisition in influencing investment decisions. This study argues that technology acquisition will decisively influence investment behavior, modernization, and expansion plans of firms. However, capability of the firms to acquire technology differs considerably. Following the Schumpeterian paradigm, we maintain that the entrepreneur's decision to invest and expand would depend on the technological opportunities available. The main role of the entrepreneur in the Schumpeterian framework is to exploit an invention or new technology in introducing new processes and products. The policy regime in India prior to 1985 did not permit the firms to take advantage of technological opportunities created abroad in introducing new technologies and expanding their capital base. The reforms introduced since 1985, for the first time, permitted the Indian firms to expand their product range, introduce new technologies, and increase their capacities without obtaining prior official sanction.This study, therefore, examines the role of technology acquisition in influencing investment decisions of private corporate firms in the aftermath of Indian economic reforms introduced in 1985. Using pooled cross-section data for 1987-88 to 1989-90 on a sample of 325 large corporate firms from seven industries, the present study examines the interfirm differences in investment behavior. The focus is on the impact of the first phase of economic reforms introduced in India post-1985. The model specified in the study postulates that acquisition of new technology made possible by economic reforms brings down costs and boosts demand. This increases the profit rate for firms using new technology. Technology acquisition per se takes place through technology imports via licensing or arms-length purchase of technology through the market, intrafirm transfer of technology by way of foreign direct investments, and direct import of capital goods embodying new technology. The process is facilitated by R&D expenditures.Empirical tests of the model carried out for each industry separately indicate that interfirm differences in the investment rate at the firm level are due to a number of factors. Opportunities to import machinery and license technology through arms-length purchase of technology influence the investment rate positively as these expenditures promote acquisition of technology. In other words, a government policy aimed at discouraging technology imports would also deter the growth of firms. Government policy before 1985 did hinder technology imports. This was partly to protect indigenous technology and partly to conserve foreign exchange. The results of the study further show that in-house R&D expenditures promote capacity expansion. This is despite the fact that most sample firms had small R&D budgets. Firms with R&D units are better placed to locate new technology and adapt it to suit Indian market conditions. This facilitates exploitation of technological opportunity leading to expansion of capital stock. However, the ability of a firm to exploit technological opportunities depended, to a considerable extent, on the age of its plants and machinery. This is because firms with older machinery and plants find the switch to new technology more difficult as most of their equipment and machinery are not suitable for modernization. The results of the study show that firms with machinery of recent vintage modernize and expand their capital base, using new technology, since it is easier for them to make the change.These empirical results have several policy implications for decision-makers in both the public and private sectors. The policymakers can draw inferences about the positive impact of the economic reforms on the capacity expansion and growth of firms. This, perhaps, provides a justification for taking the reform process to its logical end. Because economic reforms facilitate technology acquisition and capacity expansion, decision-makers ought to initiate the reform process in other spheres where it is yet to commence. Furthermore, modernization of plant and machinery and technology acquisition are a continuous process. The cost of modernizing a plant with dated machinery will be very high as older, outdated machinery is not compatible with the current vintage. An upgrade, therefore, is difficult if not impossible. Interruption of a technological upgrade due to changes in government policy ranging from total ban on technology imports to liberal import policy would enhance the cost of technology acquisition. The empirical results also indicate that even modest R&D activities facilitate the identification, location, and importation of relevant technology. Thus, firms with in-house R&D units grew faster. In countries like India, vigorous encouragement of R&D ought to be on the policy agenda of both corporate and government policy framers.Though our sample deals with Indian firms, it has relevance for other countries, because in most countries higher growth rates are being registered in industries that have been experiencing rapid technological development with better technological opportunities. Further, in a given country, firms that went in for acquisition of new technology invested more.     

中韩自由贸易区建立对两国贸易影响的实证分析

文章以局部均衡为基础,建立校准模型,从产业层面测算了中韩自由贸易区的建立对两国贸易流量的影响。模拟的结果表明:如果中韩不建立自由贸易区,那么中韩贸易将会较大程度的受到韩美自由贸易区贸易转移带来的影响;如果中韩建立自由贸易区则更有利于两国比较优势的发挥。     

关于国际投资争端中违约竞合的法律问题分析——以ICSID裁决为视角

近年来,很多中国企业对海外资源领域投资采用与拥有资源的某些发展中国家政府直接签订合同,即采用了国家契约的形式。当东道国国家行为违反国家契约项下的义务时,就可能同时违反了东道国与投资者母国所签订的双边投资保护协定中的承诺,这就构成了违约竞合。本文将结合ICSID裁决的案例对该违约竞合的法律问题进行分析,并对中国在对外签订双边投资保护协定方面提出建议。     

OPEC investment strategies—Past and future

Some forecasters recently have predicted that OPEC countries with continuing current account surpluses will shift from long-term to short-term investments in the near future to improve their liquidity positions. However, careful study of a variety of data, including historical patterns, suggests that this will not be the case. Instead, surplus countries will turn even more to long-term investments offering higher returns over time.