IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/worlde/v43y2020i10p2762-2784.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What attracts foreign direct investment into autocratic states? Regime time horizon and institutional design

Author

Listed:
  • Lin Cui
  • Chungshik Moon

Abstract

States play a critical role in designing institutions to facilitate international business. We study the effect of autocratic states' time horizons on their attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) through designing domestic and international institutions. We argue that autocrats with a long time horizon tend to build credible domestic commitment‐institutions that attract foreign investors; however, they are also likely to affect the design of commitment carve‐outs in international institutions, in particular bilateral investment treaties, thus weakening their institutional effect on foreign investment. We test these dual effects of regime time horizon on FDI inflow using data from 80 autocratic states over a 33‐year period and find substantial support for our arguments.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin Cui & Chungshik Moon, 2020. "What attracts foreign direct investment into autocratic states? Regime time horizon and institutional design," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(10), pages 2762-2784, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:43:y:2020:i:10:p:2762-2784
    DOI: 10.1111/twec.12956
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12956
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/twec.12956?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eichengreen, Barry & Irwin, Douglas A., 1995. "Trade blocs, currency blocs and the reorientation of world trade in the 1930s," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1-2), pages 1-24, February.
    2. Hicheon Kim & Heechun Kim & Robert E Hoskisson, 2010. "Does market-oriented institutional change in an emerging economy make business-group-affiliated multinationals perform better? An institution-based view," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(7), pages 1141-1160, September.
    3. Steven Globerman & Daniel Shapiro, 2009. "Economic and strategic considerations surrounding Chinese FDI in the United States," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 163-183, March.
    4. Mike W Peng & Denis Y L Wang & Yi Jiang, 2008. "An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 920-936, July.
    5. Neumayer, Eric & Spess, Laura, 2005. "Do bilateral investment treaties increase foreign direct investment to developing countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1567-1585, October.
    6. John H. Dunning & Sarianna M. Lundan, 2008. "Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy, Second Edition," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3215.
    7. Gregory Jackson & Richard Deeg, 2008. "Comparing capitalisms: understanding institutional diversity and its implications for international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(4), pages 540-561, June.
    8. Keele, Luke & Kelly, Nathan J., 2006. "Dynamic Models for Dynamic Theories: The Ins and Outs of Lagged Dependent Variables," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 186-205, April.
    9. Barro, Robert J, 1996. "Democracy and Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-27, March.
    10. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    11. Abbott, Kenneth W. & Snidal, Duncan, 2000. "Hard and Soft Law in International Governance," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 421-456, July.
    12. Klaus E Meyer & Evis Sinani, 2009. "When and where does foreign direct investment generate positive spillovers? A meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1075-1094, September.
    13. Christina L. Ahmadjian, 2016. "Comparative Institutional Analysis and Institutional Complexity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 12-27, January.
    14. Clague, Christopher & Keefer, Philip & Knack, Stephen & Olson, Mancur, 1996. "Property and Contract Rights in Autocracies and Democracies," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 243-276, June.
    15. World Bank, 2011. "World Development Indicators 2011," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2315.
    16. Joao Albino‐Pimentel & Pierre Dussauge & J. Myles Shaver, 2018. "Firm non‐market capabilities and the effect of supranational institutional safeguards on the location choice of international investments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(10), pages 2770-2793, October.
    17. Jean J Boddewyn, 1979. "Foreign Divestment: Magnitude and Factors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 10(1), pages 21-26, March.
    18. Elitsa R. Banalieva & Kimberly A. Eddleston & Thomas M. Zellweger, 2015. "When do family firms have an advantage in transitioning economies? Toward a dynamic institution-based view," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9), pages 1358-1377, September.
    19. Allee, Todd & Peinhardt, Clint, 2011. "Contingent Credibility: The Impact of Investment Treaty Violations on Foreign Direct Investment," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 401-432, July.
    20. Barry Eichengreen & Douglas A. Irwin, 1998. "The Role of History in Bilateral Trade Flows," NBER Chapters, in: The Regionalization of the World Economy, pages 33-62, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Jennifer Tobin & Susan Rose-Ackerman, 2011. "When BITs have some bite: The political-economic environment for bilateral investment treaties," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-32, March.
    22. Przeworski,Adam & Alvarez,Michael E. & Cheibub,Jose Antonio & Limongi,Fernando, 2000. "Democracy and Development," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521793797, September.
    23. Gregory Jackson & Richard Deeg, 2019. "Comparing capitalisms and taking institutional context seriously," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(1), pages 4-19, February.
    24. BRUNETTI, AYMO AART OLIVER & Kisunko,Gregory & Weder,Beatrice Silvia, 1997. "Institutional obstacles to doing business : region-by-region results from a worldwide survey of the private sector," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1759, The World Bank.
    25. World Bank, 2011. "Regional Highlights World Development Indicators 2011," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 27344.
    26. Koremenos, Barbara & Lipson, Charles & Snidal, Duncan, 2001. "The Rational Design of International Institutions," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(4), pages 761-799, October.
    27. Gurneeta Vasudeva & Jennifer W. Spencer & Hildy J. Teegen, 2013. "Bringing the Institutional Context Back In: A Cross-National Comparison of Alliance Partner Selection and Knowledge Acquisition," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 319-338, April.
    28. Michael A Witt & Arie Y Lewin, 2007. "Outward foreign direct investment as escape response to home country institutional constraints," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 579-594, July.
    29. Yan Zhang & Haiyang Li & Yu Li & Li‐An Zhou, 2010. "FDI spillovers in an emerging market: the role of foreign firms' country origin diversity and domestic firms' absorptive capacity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(9), pages 969-989, September.
    30. Jensen, Nathan M., 2003. "Democratic Governance and Multinational Corporations: Political Regimes and Inflows of Foreign Direct Investment," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 587-616, July.
    31. Olson, Mancur, 1993. "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(3), pages 567-576, September.
    32. Schneider, Friedrich & Frey, Bruno S., 1985. "Economic and political determinants of foreign direct investment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 161-175, February.
    33. Przeworski,Adam & Alvarez,Michael E. & Cheibub,Jose Antonio & Limongi,Fernando, 2000. "Democracy and Development," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521790321, September.
    34. Michael K. Miller, 2012. "Economic Development, Violent Leader Removal, and Democratization," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 1002-1020, October.
    35. Blake, Daniel J., 2013. "Thinking Ahead: Government Time Horizons and the Legalization of International Investment Agreements," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 67(4), pages 797-827, October.
    36. Christine M. Chan & Takehiko Isobe & Shige Makino, 2008. "Which country matters? Institutional development and foreign affiliate performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(11), pages 1179-1205, November.
    37. Daniel Hoechle, 2007. "Robust standard errors for panel regressions with cross-sectional dependence," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(3), pages 281-312, September.
    38. Yigang Pan & David K Tse, 2000. "The Hierarchical Model of Market Entry Modes," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(4), pages 535-554, December.
    39. José Cheibub & Jennifer Gandhi & James Vreeland, 2010. "Democracy and dictatorship revisited," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 67-101, April.
    40. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Markus Leibrecht & Christian Bellak, 2023. "Investment policy reform as a driver of foreign direct investment: Evidence from China," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 1035-1053, October.
    2. Bellak, Christian & Leibrecht, Markus & Chaisse, Julien, 2022. "Reforming International Investment Agreements," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 328, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    3. Dimitrova, Anna & Triki, Dora & Valentino, Alfredo, 2022. "The effects of business- and non-business-targeting terrorism on FDI to the MENA region: The moderating role of political regime," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    4. Christian Bellak & Markus Leibrecht & Julien Chaisse, 2022. "Reforming International Investment Agreements: The Case of China and Foreign Direct Investment," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp328, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    5. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2022. "Does poverty deter foreign direct investment flows to developing countries?," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 297-330, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jong-A-Pin, Richard & Mierau, Jochen O., 2022. "No country for old men: Aging dictators and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Santiago López-Cariboni & Xun Cao, 2019. "When do authoritarian rulers educate: Trade competition and human capital investment in Non-Democracies," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 367-405, September.
    3. Soumyajit Mazumder, 2016. "Can I stay a BIT longer? The effect of bilateral investment treaties on political survival," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 477-521, December.
    4. Madhav Joshi & Jason Michael Quinn, 2020. "Civil war termination and foreign direct investment, 1989–2012," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 37(4), pages 451-470, July.
    5. Freund, Caroline & Jaud, Melise, 2013. "Regime Change, Democracy and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 9282, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Dahlum, Sirianne & Knutsen, Carl Henrik, 2017. "Do Democracies Provide Better Education? Revisiting the Democracy–Human Capital Link," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 186-199.
    7. Liu, Xiaming & Yang, Na & Li, Linjie & Liu, Yuanyuan, 2021. "Co-evolution of emerging economy MNEs and institutions: A literature review," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4).
    8. Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Sekkat, Khalid, 2022. "A time to throw stones, a time to reap: how long does it take for democratic transitions to improve institutional outcomes?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 429-443, June.
    9. Yue, Jiahua & Zhou, Shangsi, 2018. "Democracy’s comparative advantage: Evidence from aggregated trade data, 1962–2010," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 27-40.
    10. Carl Henrik Knutsen, 2012. "Democracy and economic growth: A survey of arguments and results," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 393-415, December.
    11. Mengmeng Wang & Shufeng Simon Xiao & Sang Hyun Han, 2023. "Exploring the double-edged sword effect of outward FDI spillovers on domestic firms’ productivity in an emerging market," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 275-299, February.
    12. Kammas, Pantelis & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2019. "Do dictatorships redistribute more?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 176-195.
    13. François, Abel & Panel, Sophie & Weill, Laurent, 2020. "Educated dictators attract more foreign direct investment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-55.
    14. Mogens Justesen & Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, 2013. "Institutional interactions and economic growth: the joint effects of property rights, veto players and democratic capital," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 449-474, December.
    15. Weilei (Stone) Shi & Sunny Li Sun & Daying Yan & Zhu Zhu, 2017. "Institutional fragility and outward foreign direct investment from China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(4), pages 452-476, May.
    16. Mulligan, Casey B. & Tsui, Kevin K., 2015. "Political entry, public policies, and the economy," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 377-397.
    17. Lacroix, Jean & Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Sekkat, Khalid, 2021. "Democratic transitions can attract foreign direct investment: Effect, trajectories, and the role of political risk," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 340-357.
    18. Wafa Ghardallou & Abdelkader Boudriga, 2014. "Financial Development and Democracy: is the Relationship Non-Linear?," Working Papers 886, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2014.
    19. Weiping Liu & Jiatao Li, 2019. "Unbalanced Institutions in Market Transition: How Do They Matter for Firm Strategic Choices and Performance in Emerging Economies?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 675-702, October.
    20. Tobias Böhmelt & Edita Butkutė, 2018. "The self-selection of democracies into treaty design: insights from international environmental agreements," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 351-367, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:43:y:2020:i:10:p:2762-2784. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0378-5920 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.