IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cuf/journl/y2003v4i1p151-176.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing Sectoral FDI Incentives: Comparative Advantages and Market Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Larry D. Qiu

    (Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology)

Abstract

In this paper we closely examine the implications of comparative advantage for foreign direct investment (FDI) incentives. Particularly, we find that the host country¡¯s comparative advantage sector is more attractive to inward FDI than its comparative disadvantage sector. This finding is supported by empirical evidence. However, such a cross-sector FDI comparison has not been studied, theoretically and explicitly, in the literature. This paper contributes to the literature by filling this gap. We have also obtained some other results such as how the degrees of comparative advantage and absolute advantage affect FDI incentives, and whether a multinational corporation (MNC) should allow its foreign subsidiary to be run independently.

Suggested Citation

  • Larry D. Qiu, 2003. "Comparing Sectoral FDI Incentives: Comparative Advantages and Market Opportunities," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 4(1), pages 151-176, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:cuf:journl:y:2003:v:4:i:1:p:151-176
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://aeconf.com/Articles/May2003/aef040109.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://down.aefweb.net/AefArticles/aef040109.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilfred J. Ethier & James R. Markusen, 2021. "Multinational firms, technology diffusion and trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 7, pages 131-158, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Horstmann, Ignatius J & Markusen, James R, 1996. "Exploring New Markets: Direct Investment, Contractual Relations and the Multinational Enterprise," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(1), pages 1-19, February.
    3. James R. MARKUSEN, 2021. "Multinationals, Multi-Plant Economies, And The Gains From Trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 1, pages 3-24, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Baye, Michael R & Crocker, Keith J & Ju, Jiandong, 1996. "Divisionalization, Franchising, and Divestiture Incentives in Oligopoly," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 223-236, March.
    5. Edward John Ray, 1989. "The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, 1979-85," NBER Chapters, in: Trade Policies for International Competitiveness, pages 53-84, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. James R. Markusen, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, Spring.
    7. John H. Dunning, 1977. "Trade, Location of Economic Activity and the MNE: A Search for an Eclectic Approach," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Bertil Ohlin & Per-Ove Hesselborn & Per Magnus Wijkman (ed.), The International Allocation of Economic Activity, chapter 12, pages 395-418, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Brainard, S Lael, 1997. "An Empirical Assessment of the Proximity-Concentration Trade-off between Multinational Sales and Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 520-544, September.
    9. James R. MARKUSEN, 2021. "Factor Movements And Commodity Trade As Complements," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 15, pages 325-340, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Ignatius J. Horstmann & James R. Markusen, 2021. "Endogenous market structures in international trade (natura facit saltum)," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 2, pages 25-45, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. David L. Hummels & Robert M. Stern, 1994. "Evolving Patterns of North American Merchandise Trade and Foreign Direct Investment, 1960–1990," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 5-30, January.
    12. Helpman, Elhanan, 1984. "A Simple Theory of International Trade with Multinational Corporations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 451-471, June.
    13. Nagesh Kumar, 1994. "Determinants of Export Orientation of Foreign Production by U.S. Multinationals: An Inter-Country Analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(1), pages 141-156, March.
    14. V N Balasubramanyam & V Mahambare, 2003. "Foreign direct investment in India," Working Papers 539987, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    15. S. Lael Brainard, 1993. "A Simple Theory of Multinational Corporations and Trade with a Trade-Off Between Proximity and Concentration," NBER Working Papers 4269, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Baldwin, Robert E, 1979. "Determinants of Trade and Foreign Investment: Further Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 61(1), pages 40-48, February.
    17. Ignatius Horstmann & James R. Markusen, 1987. "Licensing versus Direct Investment: A Model of Internalization by the Multinational Enterprise," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 20(3), pages 464-481, August.
    18. S. Lael Brainard, 1993. "An Empirical Assessment of the Proximity-Concentration Tradeoff between Multinational Sales and Trade," NBER Working Papers 4580, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Keith E. Maskus & Allan Webster, 1995. "Comparative Advantage and the Location of Inward Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from the UK and South Korea," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 315-328, March.
    20. Wilfred J. Ethier, 1986. "The Multinational Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 805-833.
    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. Poonam Mehra Singh, 2017. "Competition or Comparative Advantage: What Drives Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions?," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 15(3), pages 461-488, September.
    2. Mi Lin & Yum K. Kwan, 2011. "Sectoral Location of FDI in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34, pages 1181-1198, July.
    3. Liu, Kelly & Daly, Kevin & Varua, Maria Estela, 2014. "Analysing China's foreign direct investment in manufacturing from a high–low technology perspective," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 82-95.
    4. John C. Anyanwu, 2012. "Why Does Foreign Direct Investment Go Where It Goes?: New Evidence From African Countries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 13(2), pages 425-462, November.
    5. Appiah, Michael & Li, Mingxing & Taden, John & Ashraf, Sania & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Laari, Prosper Basommi, 2024. "Enhancing natural resource rents through industrialization, technological innovation, and foreign capital in the OECD countries: Does financial development matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Evgenia Tonkova & Sevdalina Hristova & Dancho Petrov, 2020. "Comparative Advantages in Attracting Investments - Contemporary View," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 9(3), pages 12-18, December.

    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. Qiu, Larry D. & Tao, Zhigang, 2001. "Export, foreign direct investment, and local content requirement," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 101-125, October.
    2. James R. Markusen, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, Spring.
    3. Smith, Pamela J., 2001. "How do foreign patent rights affect U.S. exports, affiliate sales, and licenses?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 411-439, December.
    4. M. T. Alguacil & V. Orts, 2003. "Inward Foreign Direct Investment and Imports in Spain," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 19-38.
    5. Joseph Francois & Douglas R. Nelson, 2000. "Victims of Progress: Economic Integration, Specialization, and Wages for Unskilled Labor," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 00-065/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. Salvador Barrios & Holger Görg & Eric Strobl, 2003. "Multinational Enterprises and New Trade Theory: Evidence for the Convergence Hypothesis," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 397-418, October.
    7. Wilfred J. Ethier & James R. Markusen, 2021. "Multinational firms, technology diffusion and trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 7, pages 131-158, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Isabel Faeth, 2009. "Determinants Of Foreign Direct Investment – A Tale Of Nine Theoretical Models," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 165-196, February.
    9. Jocelyn Glass, Amy & Saggi, Kamal, 2002. "Licensing versus direct investment: implications for economic growth," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 131-153, January.
    10. Markusen, James, 2005. "Modeling the Offshoring of White-Collar Services: From Comparative Advantage to the New Theories of Trade and FDI," CEPR Discussion Papers 5408, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Valeria Gattai, 2006. "From the Theory of the Firm to FDI and Internalisation: A Survey," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 65(2), pages 225-262, November.
    12. Erdey, László, 2004. "A működőtőke-áramlás a telephelyválasztás elméletének tükrében [The flow of operating capital in the light of the theory of location choice]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 472-494.
    13. Naoto Jinji & Xingyuan Zhang & Shoji Haruna, 2022. "Deep Integration, Global Firms, and Technology Spillovers," Advances in Japanese Business and Economics, Springer, number 978-981-16-5210-3, June.
    14. Antrà s, Pol & Yeaple, Stephen R., 2014. "Multinational Firms and the Structure of International Trade," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 55-130, Elsevier.
    15. Helpman, Elhanan & Melitz, Marc J & Yeaple, Stephen, 2003. "Export versus FDI," CEPR Discussion Papers 3741, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Norback, Pehr-Johan, 2001. "Multinational firms, technology and location," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 449-469, August.
    17. James R. Markusen & Anthony J. Venables, 2021. "Multinational firms and the new trade theory," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 3, pages 47-67, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    18. María C. Latorre, 2009. "The economic analysis of multinationals and foreign direct investment: a review," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 191(4), pages 97-126, December.
    19. Baldwin, Richard E. & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I. P., 2001. "Multiproduct multinationals and reciprocal FDI dumping," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 429-448, August.
    20. Felipa Mello Sampayo, 2006. "The Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities of the USA Multinational Enterprises," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_040, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign direct investment (FDI); Multinational corporation (MNC); Comparative advantage; Absolute advantage; Market opportunity; FDI incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

    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:cuf:journl:y:2003:v:4:i:1:p:151-176. 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: Qiang Gao (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/emcufcn.html .

    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.