Foreign Direct Investment Stock Research Articles

The European Union’s Position in Global Foreign Direct Investment Flows and Stocks: Institutional Attempts to Improve It

Global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) have slowed down in recent years, which particularly affected developed countries, including those in the European Union (EU). A general decrease in capital circulation in the form of FDI between the EU and the rest of the world has been observed. The aim of this paper is to assess the changes in the EU’s position in global FDI flows and stocks and to discuss attempts made by EU institutions and the EU member states to improve this position. The EU can use the common investment policy to strengthen its investment position. The EU acquired the competence to conduct this policy based on the Lisbon Treaty, while its actual shape was determined in practice. Improving the EU’s position in global FDI flows requires agreements regarding foreign investment, concluded at the EU level with other countries and integration groupings. Ensuring national treatment of investors before and after investing is important, as are solutions used for inwestor protection, inwestor-state-dispute-settlements (ISDS), and the use of investment project screening to protect strategic sectors of the EU economy. The EU investment policy can mitigate the effects of slowing down FDI flows, create a more favorable climate for outgoing FDI, and protect vital interests for FDI coming into the EU from third countries.

Where is the gray side of green growth? Theoretical insights, policy directions, and evidence from a multidimensional approach.

Addressing the geographical relocation of the pollution-intensive gray side of low-carbon green production, our study analyzes potential determinants of green and gray growth performance of industrialized/developed countries (IDCs) and industrializing/emerging economies (IEEs) over the 1996–2015 period. We define green growth by low-carbon output, while we link gray growth to comparative advantages of pollution havens. Green and gray growth models include such predictors as domestic income and foreign direct investment (FDI) together with composite indices for globalization, environmental policy stringency (EPS), industrialization, and control of corruption. Considering non-stationarity, cross-section dependency, endogeneity, and heterogeneity concerns, we employ bootstrap and residual-based cointegration analyses followed by long-run estimations using the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimators and causality examination through Dumitrescu-Hurlin and Emirmahmutoglu-Kose tests. The key findings of the study are as follows: (i) income is positively associated with green growth for both IEEs and IDCs, whereas the income-gray growth nexus is negative for IEEs. (ii) Although inward FDI stocks are positively related to green and gray growth of IEEs and outward FDI stocks are negatively associated with green and gray growth of IDCs, these relationships are mediated by EPS. (iii) Globalization encourages both green and gray growth for IDCs. (iv) Even though EPS inhibits green growth and encourage gray growth in IEEs, these direct effects widely depend on the indirect effects of control of corruption. (v) IEEs’ higher gray growth performance is substantially explained by their increased industrial competitiveness, whereas the link is negative for IDCs. (vi) Control of corruption fosters both green and gray growth in IEEs. Overall, “growing gray” does not necessarily mean “not growing green” and vice versa. Globally, the low-carbon benefits of greening countries may be counterbalanced by the environmental costs of graying economies. From a policy perspective, IEEs need to reinforce environmental policies by green efficiency, green industrialization, and anti-corruption plans to decouple economic growth from carbon dioxide emissions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-13127-x.

The foreign direct investment-environment nexus: Does emission disaggregation matter?

This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emissions by using disaggregated emissions data; territorial-based and consumption-based emissions. FDI is measured in three ways; inflow, net inflow, and stock. Employing data over the period 1995–2014 and a number of estimators, the results indicate FDI (whether measured as inflow or net inflow) has negative impact on emissions (irrespective of the measurement). However, the impact is generally found to be greater for the territorial-based emissions. The results of the FDI flow variables largely support the pollution halo hypothesis. Thus, the results are supportive of the robust effect of FDI’s positive effect. Regarding the stock measure, the negative effect of FDI is only found for the territorial-based CO2 emissions. Since the territorial-based emissions capture emissions in the domestic economy only, it is not surprising that the plausible efficiency of FDI stock is found to reduce these emissions rather the consumption-based. FDI stock is now considered part of the local economy. The results of the paper are largely not parallel with previous studies that did not disaggregate CO2 emissions. This we believe is an indication that the measure of CO2 matters for the analyses of the FDI-emissions nexus.

The Engagement of the Visegrad 4 in International Transfer of Capital in the Form of Foreign Direct Investment in the Post-Crisis Period

The paper concentrates on the international transfer of capital in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI). A relatively high level of investment attractiveness of an economy is required for the attraction of capital in the form of FDI. Inflow of capital in the form of FDI is perceived as a factor stimulating economic development of the so-called catching up economies, and the Visegrad 4 countries can be viewed as such economies. The crucial objective of the paper is to present investment attractiveness of the Visegrad 4 countries in the light of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / the World Bank reports and EY’s surveys. A parallel objective is to analyse the engagement of the Visegrad 4 countries in international capital transfer in the form of FDI in post-crisis period in order to identify inward and outward FDI flows and stock. The research tools used in the article included literature studies, descriptive analysis and comparative analysis. The undertaken research leads to a conclusion that foreign capital played an important role in the transformation of the V4 economies and their strong integration with the world economy. It contributed to supplementing capital shortages and increasing efficiency. The V4 countries remain net importers of capital in the form of FDI, though the positions of the V4 as investors in the world market have risen slightly over the last decade. It is of vital importance to introduce dynamic and effective actions aiming at promoting the V4 as a location of FDI and to undertake parallel activities directed at stimulating the V4 investment abroad.

ПРИПЛИВ ІНОЗЕМНИХ ІНВЕСТИЦІЙ ЯК ЧИННИК РОЗВИТКУ ІНДІЇ

With the transformation of international capital markets, developing countries have become recipients of significant inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI). In recent decades, India has shown the highest growth rate of FDI stock among the BRICS countries. The inflow of foreign capital has become a determining factor of economic development in many countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the impact of foreign capital inflows in the form of FDI on the Indian economy during 2000-2020 years. Specifically this period was chosen for the research because it is characterized by the intensification of investment flows to the country. The article analyzes the dynamics, structure, sectoral and regional distribution of FDI flows to India. The results of investment activities of non-residents in the country were also considered in the study. Dividends and withdrawals from income of quasi corporations were found to have increased to record levels in recent years. Investment income payments to non-residents are small relative to total current account liabilities. However, if this trend intensifies, it will negatively affect the current account, which has constantly remained in deficit over the past decade. To determine the role of foreign capital in the economic development of India, a number of regression models were built. Regression analysis of selected items of the current account was carried out to determine the existence of a relationship between FDI flows and the state of the country’s balance of payments. The results of the study confirmed the existence of a significant relationship between FDI and exports, imports and payments of investment income to non-residents. It was also found that FDI inflows contribute more to the formation of export than import. To assess the impact of FDI on India’s economic growth, a regression model for the formation of GDP was built based on the Cobb-Douglas production function. The regression analysis of India’s GDP confirmed a significant positive dependence of GDP on FDI, but showed that foreign capital plays a relatively modest role in the country’s economic growth.

Прямые инвестиции из России за рубеж: изменения с 2018 года

The article considers the specifics of Russian foreign direct investment outflows in 2018 – the first half of 2020. Three main reasons for the new stagnation of Russian foreign investment expansion are identified: 1) the strengthening of “sanctions war” with the West after the election of Vladimir Putin for the 4th presidential term; 2) the slowdown in the global economy in 2018-2019 against the background of relatively low prices for hydrocarbons and other raw materials exported from Russia; and 3) the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. These factors resulted in a reduction of both outward foreign direct investment stocks by Russian MNEs (partially due to revaluation of their assets after the collapse of the ruble rate), and a decrease in investments of wealthy Russians in foreign real estate as well as pseudo-foreign investment because of the regular attempts to conduct de-offshorization. Based on a study conducted at INION within the framework of the international program for studying MNEs from emerging markets, a list of leading Russian non-financial MNEs by the end of 2019 is presented. Further prospects of Russian direct investment are shown at the end of the article.

The Rise of Transnational Corporations from Developing Countries in the Second Half of the 20th Century

The article highlights three stages of the formation of multinationals from developing countries. Although first Argentine TNCs appeared at the turn of the 19th — 20th centuries, in the majority of the Global South countries TNCs appeared in the 1960s — 1980s. With the collapse of the bipolar world order, which in many developing countries was accompanied by significant internal political and economic transformations, the second stage of foreign expansion of TNCs from the Global South began. Indeed, in 1990 they accounted for 6 % of global outward foreign direct investment stock, while the figure was 10 % by the end of 2005. We date the beginning of the third stage to the financial and economic crisis of 2007—2009, since multinationals from developing countries as a whole are more successfully overcoming the period of turbulence in the global economy. By the end of 2020, they accounted for 22 % of global outward foreign direct investment stock, and during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis they generally exported more than 50% of the capital. The modern foreign expansion of such TNCs has many reasons, differs greatly from country to country, and often differs slightly from the specifics of Western multinationals. At the same time, initially, “late internationalization” in developing countries had two main vectors — the use of new opportunities for South — South cooperation and overcoming, through the creation of subsidiaries in highly developed countries, the shortcomings of the business environment of “catching up” countries.

Direct Investment from Russia Abroad: Changes since 2018

The article considers the specifics of Russian foreign direct investment outflows in 2018 - the first half of 2020. Three main reasons for the new stagnation of Russian foreign investment expansion are identified: 1) the strengthening of sanctions war with the West after the election of Vladimir Putin for the 4th presidential term;2) the slowdown in the global economy in 2018-2019 against the background of relatively low prices for hydrocarbons and other raw materials exported from Russia;and 3) the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. These factors resulted in a reduction of both outward foreign direct investment stocks by Russian MNEs (partially due to revaluation of their assets after the collapse of the ruble rate), and a decrease in investments of wealthy Russians in foreign real estate as well as pseudo-foreign investment because of the regular attempts to conduct de-offshorization. Based on a study conducted at INION within the framework of the international program for studying MNEs from emerging markets, a list of leading Russian non-financial MNEs by the end of 2019 is presented. Further prospects of Russian direct investment are shown at the end of the article. © 2021 Ltd Integration: Education and Science. All rights reserved.

Integration and investment development paths of CEE countries. Does EU-membership make a difference?

ABSTRACT A number of studies have dealt with the effects of economic integration on foreign direct investment, yet without a comprehensive and simultaneous analysis of the overall positioning of the countries involved along the investment development path (IDP). In the current paper, a comparative analysis of IDPs of five Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, both members and nonmembers of the European Union (EU), is conducted. The purpose of the paper is to determine the effect of economic integration on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and on the movement of these CEE economies through their IDP stages. An attempt is made to identify the positioning of the sample countries on the IDP, using trend estimation depicting the relationship between net outward investment (NOI) per capita and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, as well as detailed descriptive data on inward and outward FDI stocks and flows, subsequently complemented with econometric analysis. While the findings point to a generally positive effect of EU membership on FDI growth and IDP trajectories, integration tends to exert a stronger effect on inward FDI than on outward FDI of the investigated member countries. At the same time, the study’s findings reveal the need to add new theoretical considerations to the interface between EU integration and the IDP model, as well as formulate certain policy implications.

Cultural distance and foreign direct investment stock in Thailand: Evidence from panel data

Cultural distance and foreign direct investment stock in Thailand: Evidence from panel data

Regional integration and bilateral FDI stocks in the OECD

AbstractWe examine factors affecting OECD bilateral Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stocks over 1995–2016. We emphasize the effect of regional trade agreements, the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). We find that EU membership is a significant determinant of FDI even when we condition on other gravity variables. The importance of robust economic institutions and freedoms is discussed, with implications for countries that are reducing such freedoms. European Integration has raised intra Single Market FDI by over 40%. The UK has no labour market or competitive environment advantage above the rest of the EU in attracting FDI, and it will lose stocks after departure. We show that distance matters, but the effect is declining slowly.

Discussion: Challenges and Recent Developments of Foreign Direct Investments in Albania and Western Balkan Countries

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a crucial role in the growth and development of transitional economies and especially in countries where domestic capital is insufficient to meet the investment needs of the economy. Albania is a country applying for E.U. integration, so the country's central policies in recent years have brought about a liberalized economic framework and improved conditions for business development, attracting highly sought after FDI. This paper will provide an analysis of FDI in Albania and make a comparative analysis with the Western Balkan (W.B.) countries. The focus of the paper will also be on analyzing some of the critical elements that make these countries attractive to FDI, such as: analyzing the sectoral distribution of FDI stocks, the impact that inflows have had on the development of domestic economies, in creating jobs. FDI flows even though they have been in an upward trend, have not yet reached the desired expectations levels. W.B. countries have some very potential sectors to increase in the future and to be more attractive for FDI, such as tourism, service, transport, agriculture, industry. FDI had a positive impact on Albania's economy and in other Balkan countries. However, the region still needs to make many improvements in implementing institutional reforms, building and operating democratic institutions, improving the infrastructure. All countries need to collaborate to enhance political instability, resolve conflicts, and to focus on improvements and policies to attract potential investors.Implications for a Central European audience: This paper aims to contribute to increasing the knowledge about the opportunities and potential sectors to invest in the W.B. area. The article may make a positive contribution to the Central European businesses generally and especially to firms that are interested in investing their capital in W.B countries or scholars who currently study the effects of FDI in developing countries. There is an analysis of how public policies can further increase the attraction of FDIs, which is beneficial for public officials aspiring to absorb foreign investments in their area of oversight. The optimal geographical position of Albania and W.B. countries has played an essential role in attracting foreign investments for neighbouring countries and especially European Union countries. Central European countries such as Hungary, Austria, and Switzerland are leaders or significant investors in the region. The distance between host and recipient countries have been a dominant factor of FDI, as well as cultural and linguistic resemblances.

Intensity of foreign investment promotion and development levels in Central–Eastern European regions

PurposeInvestment promotion is gaining in popularity, yet its relationship with regional development remains unclear and under-investigated. The purpose of this paper is to combine place marketing and regional development concepts to explore investment promotion in the Czech, Polish and Slovak regions. It identifies elements of best practice and investigates to what extent these are used in foreign direct investment promotion conducted by regional authorities. Organisation- and implementation-related elements are studied. The discussion aims to answer the question of how systematic Central–Eastern European regional investment promotion is, and what are the factors determining regions’ involvement in, and the extent of, promotion activities.Design/methodology/approachDiscussion is based on an original survey of Central–Eastern European (CEE) regional authorities' investment promotion. The paper develops a measurement of regional authorities’ engagement in investment promotion – an investment promotion index (IPI) and using non-parametric, two-tailed Spearmans correlation test investigates the relationship between IPI and socio-economic conditions in the regions. Kruskal-Wallis, a non-parametric test of difference is used to investigate statistical significance of differences in mean values between the three countries.FindingsThe analysis provides early insights into the relationship between regional development and investment attraction – the main theoretical contribution of the paper. Diverse levels of engagement in promotion are not influenced by the staple competitiveness factors of gross domestic product growth rates or foreign direct investment stock. Instead, it is conditioned by labour market situation in the countries studied.Originality/valueInvestment promotion relationship to regional development remains under-explored. The main focus of the analysis offered is the varying levels of CEE regional authorities’ involvement in investment promotion and its relationship to the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the regions. Exploring this relationship, the paper provides original contribution in the following two aspects: it establishes a systematic way of measuring regional authorities’ engagement with investment promotion; and it links the level of investment promotion to wider development of the regions.

Brexit Damage Limitation: Tariff-Jumping FDI and the Irish Agri-Food Sector

Abstract A ‘hard Brexit’ would be particularly damaging to the Irish beef and dairy sectors. The UK also exports substantial amounts of these products to the EU however and the vacuum that restrictions on UK access to the EU market would create affords opportunities for Irish-based producers. The aim of the paper is to assess how these opportunities might be best exploited. The results of a revealed comparative advantage (RCA) analysis conducted using international trade data do not prove encouraging. RCA analysis however implicitly treats the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) as given. Newspaper reports are drawn upon to detail the extent of precautionary ‘tariff jumping’ FDI already undertaken by Irish agri-businesses. These flows thus far have been almost entirely one-way. Flows in international financial services have been in the opposite direction. These asymmetries suggest that targeted efforts by Ireland's industrial development agencies may be able to offset some of the damaging consequences of a hard Brexit.

Do FDI inflows affect the off-balance sheet activities of banks in GCC economies?

PurposeThis paper investigates and compares the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows (flow and stock) on bank off-balance sheet (OBS) activities in aggregate as well as at the level of conventional and Islamic banks in GCC countries. It also tests hypotheses of direct and indirect impacts of FDI flow and FDI stock on OBS activities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses both static and dynamic panel generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimation techniques to analyze the data of 70 GCC banks (45 conventional and 25 Islamic banks) over the period 1995–2017.FindingsEmpirical results indicate that FDI flow and FDI stock have a significant negative direct impact on OBS activities of GCC banks. The results lend support for the direct channel hypothesis for the effect of FDI on OBS activities and find no evidence in support of the indirect channel hypothesis. OBS activities from conventional banks appear to be more affected than those from Islamic banks.Practical implicationsThe results of this study are expected to trigger appropriate policy response from the central banks of the respective GCC countries as well as their governments.Originality/valueIt is widely recognized that FDI inflows are of great importance to the economic development of emerging and developing countries. However, their impact on bank OBS activities has so far not been subject to accurate empirical assessment. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing an in-depth quantitative analysis of the impact of FDI flow and FDI stock separately, on bank OBS activities for both conventional and Islamic banks in GCC countries. It distinguishes between direct and indirect channels through which FDI flow and FDI stock may affect OBS activities for banks as a whole and both conventional and Islamic banks separately. It also uses both static and dynamic panel GMM estimation techniques to analyze the data.

How trade and investment agreements affect bilateral foreign direct investment: Results from a structural gravity model

AbstractWe employ a structural gravity approach to analyse the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and other policies on bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI). We use the UNCTAD global database on bilateral FDI stocks and flows. To control for the heterogeneous nature of PTAs, we employ two different indicators of PTA depth. We find that on average signing a PTA increases bilateral FDI stocks by around 30%. Nevertheless, we also find that ‘deeper’ or comprehensive PTAs (e.g., including provisions on investment, public procurement and intellectual property rights provisions) do not have a significantly different impact than signing regular PTAs. Belonging to the EU single market, on the other hand, has a strong impact and increases bilateral FDI by around 135%, and signing a BIT has an effect that is comparable to signing a PTA.

A panel data analysis of FDI and informal labour markets

AbstractThe objective of this paper is to examine whether informal labour markets affect the stock of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and also whether this effect is similar in developed and developing countries. Panel econometric models are estimated for a sample of 65 countries over a 10‐year period (1999–2007). While the results show that informal labour markets are significant and do positively affect FDI, they do so more for developing countries than developed countries and are robust to several checks.

Will the Future EU-UK Free Trade Agreement Affect Foreign Direct Investment?

This article aims to provide new insight on how Brexit will affect foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK. By estimating an augmented gravity equation which accounts for the depth of free trade agreements (FTAs) as well as for EU and euro area membership, the article gauges the potential impact that different EU-UK trade scenarios might have on FDI flows and stocks. Results show that under a no-deal scenario, FDI flows from the EU into the UK would plunge by 25.9% – 40.6%, and inward FDI stocks would decrease by 49.2% – 53.9%. However, the depth of the future FTA can mitigate this negative outcome. More generally, the article shows that the FDI costs of leaving the EU would be significantly higher for the euro area countries.

FDI determinants: dynamic extreme bounds analysis

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to develop a new analysis method, named dynamic extreme bounds analysis (DEBA), and to determine decisive determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) by using this new method.Design/methodology/approachIn econometrics, the extreme bounds analysis (EBA) method is a convincing way of examining the strength of independent variables. However, the results obtained when using the EBA method contain little information, since each variable is only either strong or fragile, and some strong variables may be omitted because their significance could be undermined by just one unreasonable regression. Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, this paper proposes DEBA, a new analysis method.FindingsThe authors employ the DEBA method to determine the factors which impact FDI in 86 countries. The authors note that in developing countries, the level of previous FDI, a high degree of openness, large market size and development of infrastructure help to attract FDI, whereas the development of domestic industry deters it. In developed countries, FDI is lured by the level of previous FDI stock, a high degree of openness, large market size, macroeconomic instability and availability of energy.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study is expected to contribute a new methodological approach and define the strong determinants of FDI, the study is not without limitations, such as the unavailability of data. Further studies should improve the DEBA method by developing DEBA packages for use in popular statistical software, enhancing methods for other types of data and more accurately determining the estimation order of variables. In addition, further research should expand the study's FDI model, providing more potential variables for an in-depth overview of this model.Originality/valueThis study is to contribute a new methodological approach (DEBA method) for data analysis and defining of strong determinants of FDI. The study findings are useful for governments, policy-makers and economists in formulating more attractive FDI policies.

Foreign Direct Investment in India: Emerging Trends and Patterns

This paper examines the trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) in India during 1980-2018 and the emerging patterns of the FDI inflows in the country during the last two decades (i.e., 2000 - 2019). Our analysis, based on the secondary data collected from UNCTAD and DPIIT, reveals that the ongoing FDI liberalization measures started in India since 1991 have resulted in a dramatic upsurge in the FDI inflows as well as a stock of FDI in the country. The share of India in the global FDI inflows has increased in the post-liberalization period. Still, there was no perceptible increase in India’s share in the global FDI stock during this period. Detailed examination of the patterns of the FDI inflows in India revealed that the equity capital had been the largest component of the FDI in India.Moreover, its share in the total FDI inflows has been increasing during 2000 and 2019. Mauritius and Singapore have been the two important sources of FDI inflows into India, contributing more than half of the FDI flows during the last two decades; this was mainly because these countries were considered as tax heavens for investors from other counties for routing their investments to India. Sector-wise distribution of FDI in India during the last two decades of the post-liberalization period (i.e., during 2000 - 2019) has shown that the service sector has emerged the largest recipient of FDI replacing the manufacturing sector. Our analysis has clearly shown the impact of liberalization on enhancing the FDI flows as well as stock in India and also in changing patterns of FDI distribution in the country.