Structure and evolution of the greenfield FDI network along the belt and road

Abstract

Using bilateral greenfield investment projects data from 2003 to 2019 collected from fDi Markets, this study constructed the greenfield foreign direct investment networks along the Belt and Road (BR-GFNs). Based on a social network analysis, we investigated the structure of BR-GFNs at three levels. At the overall level, the BR-GFNs are characterized by small-world, reciprocity, and robustness. At the community level, the BR-GFNs form three communities: the east, south, and west. Lastly, at the national level, China, Russia, India, and Turkey occupy important positions in BR-GFNs, with relatively high resource control abilities. Moreover, we applied the quadratic assignment procedure to investigate the factors affecting the structural formation of the BR-GFNs. The results show that countries with less geographical, institutional, economic, and cultural distance, higher political affinity, and possibility of signing bilateral investment treaties are more likely to establish cross-border greenfield investments.