Foreign direct investment under fiscal interdependence when policy is set unilaterally

Abstract

This paper develops a partial equilibrium model of foreign direct investment to analyze the potentially opposing interests between a host and foreign country. The two countries are fiscally interdependent and the fiscal variable is set unilaterally by the foreign country. The analysis indicates that fiscal independence is welfare-enhancing, particularly in the case where the outflow of FDI is large. The case where a lump-sum subsidy is set to address the exit of firms indicates that the need for subsidy payments subside under fiscal independence.