Several theories have been advanced in recent years purporting to explain the phenomenon of foreign direct investment. This study subjects a number of these theories to limited empirical testing, using fairly elaborate investment data on a single country, Brazil. The theories are discussed in more detail in Section II. The specific hypotheses tested and the methodology used are described in Section III; Section IV and V discuss data and measurement specification; Section VI outlines results of the study.© 1972 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1972) 3, 67–82