Higher Foreign Direct Investment Inflows Research Articles

Inward FDI and the quality of domestic institutions: A cross-country panel VAR analysis

Domestic institutions are recognized as important factors in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), and spurring economic development in host countries. There is increasing evidence, however, that FDI may in turn affect and shape domestic institutions, and it is generally difficult to disentangle these two effects. The present paper aims to shed light on this issue using extensive data on the quality of institutions and on inward FDI in 102 countries over a period of 25 years. We distinguish between different types of institution, FDI, and country, and we adopt a panel vector autoregression (VAR) approach to identify the direction of causality between the two variables. Our findings suggest that the quality of institutions matters for attracting FDI, but also that higher inflows of FDI have a significant short-term impact on the institutional quality of recipient economies. We also find that such a relationship varies with the type of FDI considered, and differs between transition and developing economies.

The Role of Economic Infrastructure and Trade Openness in Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries

The purpose of this paper was to examine the role of economic infrastructure and trade openness in attracting foreign direct investment in developing countries. The study used secondary data from 1997 to 2019 to analyse 95 developing countries selected as per data availability. Pooled regression was performed on the panel data using E-views computer software. The method used was fixed effect model and the two-stage estimated generalized least squares estimation with cross-section weights and instrumental variables. The paper tested seven equations for robustness and results analysed after cointegrating regression Durbin-Watson test. The study tested the significance of economic infrastructure and degree of trade openness in the attraction of foreign direct investment inflows among other variables. The study established a positive and significant correlation between foreign direct investment inflows and economic infrastructure. The paper also established a positive and significant correlation between foreign direct investment inflows and the degree of trade openness. The study concluded that better economic infrastructure and increased trade openness individually results in increased foreign direct investment inflows. Unequivocally therefore, this paper showed that countries with good economic infrastructure will drastically reduce transport cost. With good infrastructure in place, increased degree of trade openness will lead to a greater marginal gain in foreign direct investment inflows. Consequently, empirical results showed that, economic infrastructure and trade openness interact. This interaction makes a given developing country more attractive as a foreign direct investment destination. Unambiguously, this study found a negative interaction between economic infrastructure and the degree of trade openness, inferring that the most economically advanced developing countries tend to attract higher foreign direct investment inflows but at a decreasing rate compared to the least economically advanced developing countries.

The carbon dioxide neutralizing effect of energy innovation on international tourism in EU-5 countries under the prism of the EKC hypothesis

Mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions has become an utmost important global agenda, keeping into consideration the associated environmental hardships. As a result, it is important to unearth the factors which can neutralize carbon emissions to transform the world economy into a low-carbon one. Against this backdrop, this study explores the carbon dioxide neutralizing effects of economic growth, international tourism, clean energy promotion, and technological innovation in the context of five European Union (EU-5) nations during the 1990–2015 period. This study's main contribution is in terms of its approach to test the interaction effect between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and energy innovation on carbon dioxide emissions. The econometric analysis chronologically involves the employment of unit root, cointegration, causality, and regression methods. Overall, the findings support the inverted-U-shaped economic growth-carbon dioxide emissions nexus to verify the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Besides, the Pollution Haven Hypothesis in the context of the selected panel is also verified as higher FDI inflows are seen to boost the carbon dioxide emission levels. The results also confirm that energy innovation moderates the harmful effect of air transport (a proxy for international tourism) on carbon dioxide emissions during the developing stage of the tourism industry. On the other hand, renewable energy promotion is found to curb carbon dioxide emissions. These findings suggest that the European governments need to enhance investments in their respective renewable energy sectors and simultaneously ensure the development of clean industries, which can collectively help these nations become carbon-neutral in the future.

The impact of foreign direct investment inflows on nonperforming loans: the case of UAE

The banking sector is at risk of worsening loan quality, which is a major threat to the financial system’s stability. The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is empirically investigated in this study. The data from 2008 to 2017 are collected and analyzed through the ordinary least squares (OLS) technique. The findings reveal that FDI inflows reduced the size of NPLs during the economic crisis. Also, the combined effect of higher FDI inflows and bank efficiency reduced the size of NPLs for banks, while the combined effect of FDI inflows and better institutions, such as strong regulatory quality, did not reduce the size of NPLs but rather increased the size of NPLs. The findings have implications and contribute to the literature to establish a relationship between FDI inflows and NPLs by examining the relationship between FDI inflows and NPLs in the context of banks in the UAE.

Causal Nexus Between FDI Inflows and Its Determinants in SAARC Countries

This article aims to understand the drivers of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and its nexus with its determinants such as economic growth, inflation rate, labour productivity, infrastructure development, market size, openness of the economy, political stability and corporate tax for South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) countries. The article is based on secondary data from the World Bank and International Labour Organization (ILO) for 19 years from 2001 to 2018 for 6 SAARC countries, viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The findings indicate that there exists long-run, short-run and joint causal relationship among infrastructure development, market size, openness of the economy, political stability and corporate tax and FDI inflows. Among these variables, the corporate tax is the most important one because it shows bidirectional causality with FDI inflows in the long run as well as short run along with joint strong causality. However, only the coefficients of infrastructure development and corporate tax were found to be positively and negatively significant, respectively. Therefore, better infrastructure development and decrease in corporate tax may enhance FDI inflows in SAARC countries. This infers that with the decrease in corporate tax, more FDI inflows may take place, and higher FDI inflows may decrease in corporate tax further. Therefore, this article suggests that SAARC countries should accelerate the process of integration of their economy with the rest of the world along with political stability, enhance the infrastructure facility and reduce the corporate tax to get the higher FDI inflows. JEL: F21, F02, C22

Manufacturing Exports and Services Export Diversification

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the effect of manufacturing export performance (MEP) on services export diversification (SED). The analysis covers a sample of 138 countries over the period of 1995 to 2014, and uses the two-step system GMM approach. The findings indicate that higher MEP is positively associated with SED, with the magnitude of this positive effect being higher for less developed countries than for relatively advanced countries. In addition, the positive effect of MEP on SED rises as countries enjoy greater trade liberalization, a higher financial development depth, a higher education level, higher foreign direct investment inflows, and better institutional and governance quality.

Financial globalization and institutions in Africa: the case of foreign direct investment, central bank independence and political institutions

AbstractIn this paper, we examine the bi-directional relationship between financial globalization (proxied by foreign direct investment (FDI) flows) and economic institutions (proxied by central bank independence (CBI)) taking into consideration the role of political institutions. We test our argument on a sample of 48 African countries (1970–2012) using a two-step System Generalized Methods of Moments, with collapsed instruments and Windmeijer robust standard errors. Using two proxies for CBI, the study finds that while legal CBI does not have a significant impact on FDI, high central bank governor turnover rates have a significantly negative impact on FDI inflows. However, higher levels of political institutions significantly enhance the impact of legal CBI on FDI inflows, and dampen the impact of high central bank governor turnover rates on FDI inflows. The study also shows that, higher FDI inflows have a significantly positive impact on both legal andde factoCBI. This impact is accelerated in countries characterized by higher levels of political institutions.

THE DETERMINANTS OF FDI IN SIX FORMER FSU COUNTRIES: A STUDY OF DATA 1995–2017

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can bring in much needed capital, particularly in emerging markets, help improve manufacturing and trade sectors, bring in more efficient technologies, increase local production and exports, create jobs and develop local skills, bring about improvements in soft and hard infrastructure and overall be a contributor to sustainable economic growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With all these desirable features, it becomes relevant to ascertain the factors which attract FDI to an economy or a group of adjacent economies. This paper explores the determinants of FDI in six Former Soviet Union (FSU): Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. After an extensive literature review of theories and empirical research and using a set of cross-sectional data over the period 1995–2017, an ARDL model is estimated with FDI/GDP as the dependent variable. Inflation, exchange rate changes, openness, economy size (GDP), Income levels (GNI per capita), Infrastructure (measured by the number of fixed line and mobile subscription per 100 persons) are tested as independent variables for explanatory power in long run and short run relationships. Over the period, higher inflows of FDI in relation to GDP appear to be have been attracted to the markets with better infrastructure, smaller markets and higher income levels, with lower openness, depreciation in the exchange rate and higher income levels though the coefficients of the last three variables are not significant. The results show the type of FDI attracted to investments in this region and are evaluated from theoretical and practical view points. Policy recommendations are made to enhance FDI inflows and further economic development in this region. Such a study of this region has not been made in the past. JEL: C21, F21, F23.

The Determinants of FDI in Sub-Saharan Economies: A Study of Data from 1990–2017

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can bring in much needed capital, particularly to developing countries, help improve manufacturing and trade sectors, bring in more efficient technologies, increase local production and exports, create jobs and develop local skills, and bring about improvements in infrastructure and overall be a contributor to sustainable economic growth. With all these desirable features, it becomes relevant to ascertain the factors which attract FDI to an economy or a group of adjacent economies. This paper explores the determinants of FDI in ten sub-Saharan economies: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Cameroun, and Senegal. After an extensive literature review of theories and empirical research, using a set of cross-sectional data over the period 1990–2017, two econometric models are estimated with FDI/GDP (the ratio of Foreign Direct Investment to Gross Domestic Product) as the dependent variable, and with inflation, exchange rate changes, openness, economy size (GDP), income levels (GNI/capita (Gross National Income) per capita), and infrastructure as the independent variables. Over the period, higher inflows of FDI in relation to GDP appear to be have been attracted to the markets with better infrastructure, smaller markets, and lower income levels, with higher openness and depreciation in the exchange rate, though the coefficients of the last two variables are not significant. These results show the type of FDI attracted to investments in this region and are evaluated from theoretical and practical viewpoints. FDI is an important source of finance for developing economies. On average, between 2013 and 2017, FDI accounted for 39 percent of external finance for developing economies. Policy guidelines are formulated for the enhancement of FDI inflows and further economic development in this region. Such a study of this region has not been made in the recent past.

Determinants of Chinese FDI to Sub-Saharan Africa: a regional analysis and Guinea-Bissau case study

This thesis aims to contribute to the literature concerned with putting the nature of South-South economic ties into perspective. Specifically, it empirically examines which characteristics of Sub-Saharan African nations are related to higher foreign direct investment inflows from China. A comprehensive literature review yields a range of factors that are hypothesized to play a role in this regard. For a case study of Guinea-Bissau results suggest that even though high endowments of natural resources are inherent to the country, Chinese money inflows in the form of foreign direct investments only occur sporadically. In the regional comparison my panel data regression analysis yields that the country factors with significant, positive association to Chinese direct-investment sums are more democratic regimes, bigger markets, a non-French and non-British colonial legacy, as well as a higher agricultural potential. Contrary to what the existing literature suggests, no evidence is found that countries with higher natural-resource endowments actually receive more foreign direct investments from China.

Does foreign direct investment affect environmental pollution in China's cities? A spatial econometric perspective

Environmental pollution has aroused extensive concern worldwide. Existing literature on the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and environmental pollution has, however, seldom taken into account spatial effects. Addressing this gap, this paper investigated the spatial agglomeration effects and dynamics at work in FDI and environmental pollution (namely, in waste soot and dust, sulfur dioxide, and wastewater) in 285 Chinese cities during the period 2003–2014, using global and local measures of spatial autocorrelation. Our results showed significant spatial autocorrelation in FDI and environmental pollution levels, both of which demonstrated obvious path dependence characteristics in their geographical distribution. A range of agglomeration regions were observed. The high-value and low-value agglomeration areas of FDI were not fully consistent with those of environmental pollution. This result indicates that higher inflows of FDI did not necessarily lead to greater environmental pollution from a geographic perspective, and vice versa. Spatial panel data models were further adopted to explore the impact of FDI on environmental pollution. The results of a spatial lag model (SLM) and a spatial error model (SEM) revealed that the inflow of FDI had distinct effects on different environmental pollutants, thereby confirming the Pollution Heaven Hypothesis and Pollution Halo Hypothesis. The inflow of FDI was found to have reduced waste soot and dust pollution to a certain extent, while it increased the degree of wastewater and sulfur dioxide pollution. The findings set out in this paper hold significant implications for Chinese environmental pollution protection.

Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Exports? Evidence from African Countries

AbstractThis paper empirically examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on exports in Africa. Using the system‐generalised method of moments estimator for linear dynamic panel data on a sample of 53 African countries and five‐year periods from 1970 to 2009, the paper finds that higher FDI inflows are positively and significantly linked with higher exports of goods and services. A large part of the FDI effect is driven by its spillover effects on exports. The paper also finds the lagged value of exports, a competitive currency, as well as increases in domestic investment and physical infrastructure, to be factors stimulating African exports.

Investment Promotion and FDI Inflows: Quality Matters

Information asymmetries constitute a significant obstacle to capital flows across international borders, and in particular to flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to emerging markets. Many governments aim to reduce information barriers by engaging in investment promotion activities. Despite potentially large benefits of FDI and popularity of investment promotion intermediaries (IPIs), relatively little is known about their effectiveness. This study uses data collected through the Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking (GIPB) exercise to examine whether higher quality of IPI services translates into higher FDI inflows. The analysis, based on information on 156 countries, suggests that countries with IPIs able to handle investor inquiries in a more professional manner and IPIs possessing higher quality Web sites tend to attract greater volume of FDI. These results are robust to using sector level data and instrumental variable approach.