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Foreign direct investment and the ease of doing business

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  • Adrian Corcoran
  • Robert Gillanders

Abstract

This paper examines the effect that a country’s business regulatory environment has on the amount of foreign direct investment it attracts. We use the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking to capture the costs that firms face when operating in a country. Several interesting results emerge. Firstly, the Doing Business rank is highly significant when included in a standard empirical foreign direct investment (FDI) model estimated on data averaged over the period 2004–2009. Secondly, the significance of the overall Doing Business is driven by the Ease of Trading Across Borders component. Thirdly, the relationship is significant for middle income countries, but not for the World’s poorest region, Sub-Saharan Africa, or for the OECD. Finally, we find no evidence that the ease of doing business of nearby countries has an effect on the FDI that a country gets in general. Copyright Kiel Institute 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Adrian Corcoran & Robert Gillanders, 2015. "Foreign direct investment and the ease of doing business," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 151(1), pages 103-126, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:weltar:v:151:y:2015:i:1:p:103-126
    DOI: 10.1007/s10290-014-0194-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign direct investment; Business regulation; Trade costs; Regulation; Doing business; F21; F23; O11;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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