Regional Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in Russia

Abstract

The objective of this article is to develop a model of the regional distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Russia based on panel data for 1996–2003 taking into consideration implications shown in preceding studies on the geography of FDI in Russia. Through descriptive statistical and econometric analysis, the following conclusions were reached. First, there is a notable deviation of FDI in Russia among regions; however, a clear geographical pattern, similar to that in Central and Eastern European countries and China, can not be observed. Second, resource endowments, market factors and social development factors, to which the preceding studies attach importance as determinants for the regional selection of FDI, also proved to have high significance and explanatory power in the empirical analysis. In addition, it has been suggested that climate and favourable regionally discriminatory FDI measures are possible investment factors. Third, evidence suggesting that the Russian financial crisis in 1998 had a statistically significant influence on the decision-making process of foreign investors was not found in this analysis.