IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v24y2015i2p209-223.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The determinants of inward foreign direct investment: Evidence from the European regions

Author

Listed:
  • Villaverde, José
  • Maza, Adolfo

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the determinants of FDI in the 260 EU NUTS2 regions between 2000 and 2006. After reviewing the relevant literature and the major traits of the FDI regional distribution in the EU, we analyse its drivers. First, we specify the model and perform a factor analysis to reduce the vast number of potential determinants to a manageable size. Afterwards, we estimate a reduced version of the model with the extracted factors as independent variables. We find that economic potential, labour market characteristics, technological progress and competitiveness exert a significant impact on FDI location patterns; in contrast, market size and labour regulation do not seem to play any noteworthy role. Finally, we perform some robustness tests to make sure the results are not sensitive to outliers, spatial dependence, size of regions, endogeneity and the consideration of just the top 50 FDI recipient regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Villaverde, José & Maza, Adolfo, 2015. "The determinants of inward foreign direct investment: Evidence from the European regions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 209-223.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:24:y:2015:i:2:p:209-223
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.07.008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593114001139
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.07.008?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Crozet, Matthieu & Mayer, Thierry & Mucchielli, Jean-Louis, 2004. "How do firms agglomerate? A study of FDI in France," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 27-54, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Wolfgang Polasek & Richard Sellner, 2013. "The Does Globalization Affect Regional Growth? Evidence for NUTS-2 Regions in EU-27," DANUBE: Law and Economics Review, European Association Comenius - EACO, issue 1, pages 23-65, March.
    4. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 2003. "Economic Growth, 2nd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262025531, December.
    5. repec:bla:econom:v:38:y:1971:i:149:p:1-27 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Marcus Scheiblecker & et al., 2003. "Österreichs Wirtschaft im Jahr 2002: Neuerlich ungenügendes Wachstum," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 76(4), pages 257-323, April.
    7. Riad A Ajami & David A Ricks, 1981. "Motives of Non-American Firms Investing in the United States," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 12(3), pages 25-34, September.
    8. Roberto Basile & Davide Castellani & Antonello Zanfei, 2009. "National boundaries and the location of multinational firms in Europe," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(4), pages 733-748, November.
    9. Raymond Vernon, 1966. "International Investment and International Trade in the Product Cycle," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 80(2), pages 190-207.
    10. Maza, Adolfo & Villaverde, José, 2011. "EU regional convergence and policy: Does the concept of region matter?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 889-900.
    11. Colin Wren & Jonathan Jones, 2012. "FDI Location across British Regions and Agglomerative Forces: A Markov Analysis," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 265-286, June.
    12. Robert J. Barro, 2003. "Determinants of Economic Growth in a Panel of Countries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 4(2), pages 231-274, November.
    13. Crozet, Matthieu & Mayer, Thierry & Mucchielli, Jean-Louis, 2004. "How do firms agglomerate? A study of FDI in France," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 27-54, January.
    14. Dunning, John H, 1979. "Explaining Changing Patterns of International Production: In Defence of the Eclectic Theory," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 41(4), pages 269-295, November.
    15. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8o118937 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Franco, Chiara, 2013. "Exports and FDI motivations: Empirical evidence from U.S. foreign subsidiaries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 47-62.
    17. Michela Nardo & Michaela Saisana & Andrea Saltelli & Stefano Tarantola & Anders Hoffman & Enrico Giovannini, 2005. "Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators: Methodology and User Guide," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2005/3, OECD Publishing.
    18. Roberta Capello & Ugo Fratesi & Laura Resmini, 2011. "Globalization and Regional Growth in Europe," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-642-19251-7, december.
    19. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0.
    20. Bruce Blonigen, 2005. "A Review of the Empirical Literature on FDI Determinants," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 33(4), pages 383-403, December.
    21. Mr. Ewe-Ghee Lim, 2001. "Determinants of, and the Relation Between, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth: A Summary of the Recent Literature," IMF Working Papers 2001/175, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Rosa Bernardini Papalia & Silvia Bertarelli, 2009. "The Role of Local Agglomeration Economies and Regional Characteristics in Attracting FDI: Italian Evidence," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 161-188.
    23. Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano & Diego Puga, 1998. "Agglomeration in the Global Economy: A Survey of the ‘New Economic Geography’," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(6), pages 707-731, August.
    24. 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.
    25. Polasek, Wolfgang & Sellner, Richard, 2010. "Spatial Chow-Lin Methods for Data Completion in Econometric Flow Models," Economics Series 255, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    26. Martijn Boermans & Hein Roelfsema & Yi Zhang, 2011. "Regional determinants of FDI in China: a factor-based approach," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 23-42.
    27. Laura CASI & Laura RESMINI, 2010. "Evidence on the determinants of foreign direct investment: the case of EU regions," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 1, pages 93-118, December.
    28. Pasquale Pazienza & Vincenzo Vecchione, 2009. "Preliminary investigation of the determinants of FDI distribution in Italy," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 99-107, January.
    29. Hong Y Park, 2000. "Foreign direct investment and global sourcing choices of firms in the US," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 211-221.
    30. Basile, Roberto & Castellani, Davide & Zanfei, Antonello, 2008. "Location choices of multinational firms in Europe: The role of EU cohesion policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 328-340, March.
    31. Chidlow, Agnieszka & Salciuviene, Laura & Young, Stephen, 2009. "Regional determinants of inward FDI distribution in Poland," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 119-133, April.
    32. Majocchi, Antonio & Presutti, Manuela, 2009. "Industrial clusters, entrepreneurial culture and the social environment: The effects on FDI distribution," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 76-88, February.
    33. McCleary, Rachel & Barro, Robert, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth across Countries," Scholarly Articles 3708464, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    34. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8o118937 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. G. D. A. MacDougall, 1960. "THE BENEFITS and COSTS OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT FROM ABROAD: A THEORETICAL APPROACH," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(73), pages 13-35, March.
    36. Wolfang Polasek & Carlos Llano & Richard Sellner, 2010. "Bayesian Methods for Completing Data in Spatial Models," Review of Economic Analysis, Digital Initiatives at the University of Waterloo Library, vol. 2(2), pages 194-214, June.
    37. Karoly Fazekas, 2005. "Effects of FDI Inflows on Regional Labour Market Differences in Hungary," Economie Internationale, CEPII research center, issue 102, pages 83-105.
    38. Grahame Fallon & Mark Cook, 2010. "Exploring the Regional Distribution of Inbound Foreign Direct Investment in the UK in Theory and Practice: Evidence from a Five-Region Study," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 337-353.
    39. Robert J. Barro & Rachel McCleary, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 9682, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    40. Bartels, Frank L. & Napolitano, Francesco & Tissi, Nicola E., 2014. "FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa: A longitudinal perspective on location-specific factors (2003–2010)," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 516-529.
    41. Xavier Sala-i-Martín & Elsa V. Artadi, 2003. "Economic growth and investment in the Arab world," Economics Working Papers 683, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    42. Mark Cook, 2010. "Explaining the determinants of manufacturing and non-manufacturing FDI inflows in five UK regions," International Journal of Management Practice, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(1), pages 1-26.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Nielsen, Bo Bernhard & Asmussen, Christian Geisler & Weatherall, Cecilie Dohlmann, 2017. "The location choice of foreign direct investments: Empirical evidence and methodological challenges," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 62-82.
    2. Ju, Jiandong & Lin, Justin Yifu & Wang, Yong, 2015. "Endowment structures, industrial dynamics, and economic growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 244-263.
    3. Jonathan Jones, 2017. "Agglomeration economies and the location of foreign direct investment: A meta-analysis," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(5), pages 731-757, November.
    4. Anwar, Sajid & Sun, Sizhong, 2014. "Heterogeneity and curvilinearity of FDI-related productivity spillovers in China's manufacturing sector," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 23-32.
    5. Jerzmanowski, Michal & Tamura, Robert, 2019. "Directed technological change & cross-country income differences: A quantitative analysis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    6. Benjamin Jung, 2009. "Adjustment Dynamics of Bilateral Trade Flows: Theory and Evidence," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 145(IV), pages 421-442, December.
    7. Tarsalewska, Monika, 2015. "The timing of mergers along the production chain, capital structure, and risk dynamics," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 51-64.
    8. Antonio Ruíz Porras & Guillermo Rosales Jaramillo, 2014. "Crecimiento económico, banca y desarrollo financiero: evidencia internacional," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 29(2), pages 263-300.
    9. Ali, Amjad & Ur Rehman, Hafeez, 2015. "Macroeconomic Instability and Its Impact on Gross Domestic Product: An Empirical Analysis of Pakistan," MPRA Paper 71037, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris & Friedrich Schneider, 2019. "Growth In The Shadows: Effect Of The Shadow Economy On U.S. Economic Growth Over More Than A Century," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(1), pages 50-67, January.
    11. Collins, Ross D. & Selin, Noelle E. & de Weck, Olivier L. & Clark, William C., 2017. "Using inclusive wealth for policy evaluation: Application to electricity infrastructure planning in oil-exporting countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 23-34.
    12. Stephen Kinsella, 2009. "Preference Falsification in Teaching," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 6(3), pages 352-358, September.
    13. Kul Luintel & Mosahid Khan & Konstantinos Theodoridis, 2014. "On the robustness of R&D," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 137-155, October.
    14. KOBAYASHI Keiichiro, 2014. "Public Debt Overhang in the Heterogeneous Agent Model," Discussion papers 14044, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    15. Eduardo Cavallo & Sebastian Galiani & Ilan Noy & Juan Pantano, 2013. "Catastrophic Natural Disasters and Economic Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1549-1561, December.
    16. De Grauwe, Paul & Ji, Yuemei, 2016. "Flexibility versus Stability: A difficult trade-off in the eurozone," CEPS Papers 11530, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    17. Burda, Michael C. & Severgnini, Battista, 2014. "Solow residuals without capital stocks," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 154-171.
    18. Ghiglino, Christian & Tabasso, Nicole, 2016. "Risk aversion in a model of endogenous growth," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 30-40.
    19. Yibai Yang, 2018. "On the Optimality of IPR Protection with Blocking Patents," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 27, pages 205-230, January.
    20. Jordi Lopez-Tamayo & Raul Ramos & Jordi Surinach, 2014. "Institutional and Socio-Economic Convergence in the European Union," Croatian Economic Survey, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, vol. 16(2), pages 5-28, December.

    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:eee:iburev:v:24:y:2015:i:2:p:209-223. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    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.