IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/33204.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

FDI location across British regions and inward investment policy

Author

Listed:
  • Jones, Jonathan
  • Wren, Colin

Abstract

The theory and empirical evidence on FDI location emphasise agglomeration economies over classical location factors, such as grants. This paper uses panel data to analyse the effect of the main instrument of inward investment policy, the UK regional policy grants, on the distribution of FDI projects across British regions over 1985-05. Using a GMM estimator the paper finds grants have a significant effect on FDI, even when agglomeration terms are included, but that its effect diminished over the 1990s. This is attributed to a redrawing of the eligible areas map. It concludes that in relation to foreign investment regional policy is no longer able to affect the regional distribution of FDI, so the grants are an instrument of national development policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Jones, Jonathan & Wren, Colin, 2008. "FDI location across British regions and inward investment policy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 33204, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:33204
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/33204/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:rre:publsh:v:33:y:2003:i:1:p:61-72 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Mahtab A. Farschi & Odile E.M. Janne & Philip McCann (ed.), 2009. "Technological Change and Mature Industrial Regions," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12604.
    3. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8o118937 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. 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.
    5. Yingqi Wei & Xiaming Liu & David Parker & Kirit Vaidya, 1999. "The Regional Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in China," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(9), pages 857-867.
    6. Head, Keith & Ries, John & Swenson, Deborah, 1995. "Agglomeration benefits and location choice: Evidence from Japanese manufacturing investments in the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3-4), pages 223-247, May.
    7. Eleonora Patacchini & Patricia Rice, 2007. "Geography and Economic Performance: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis for Great Britain," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 489-508.
    8. Harald Badinger & Werner Muller & Gabriele Tondl, 2004. "Regional Convergence in the European Union, 1985- 1999: A Spatial Dynamic Panel Analysis," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 241-253.
    9. Rachel Griffith, 1999. "Using the ARD establishment level data to look at foreign ownership and productivity in the UK," IFS Working Papers W99/06, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    10. Devereux, Michael P. & Griffith, Rachel, 1998. "Taxes and the location of production: evidence from a panel of US multinationals," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 335-367, June.
    11. Michael Devereux & Rachel Griffith & Helen Simpson, 2004. "Agglomeration, regional grants and firm location," IFS Working Papers W04/06, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    12. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    13. Colin Wren, 2005. "Regional grants: are they worth it?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 245-275, June.
    14. Griffith, Rachel, 1999. "Using the ARD Establishment Level Data to Look at Foreign Ownership and Productivity in the United Kingdom," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 416-442, June.
    15. Sjef Ederveen & Henri L.F. de Groot & Richard Nahuis, 2006. "Fertile Soil for Structural Funds?A Panel Data Analysis of the Conditional Effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 17-42, February.
    16. Hines, James R, Jr, 1996. "Altered States: Taxes and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in America," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1076-1094, December.
    17. Jonathan Jones & Colin Wren, 2004. "Do Inward Investors Achieve their Job Targets?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 66(4), pages 483-513, September.
    18. Pierre-Philippe Combes & Miren Lafourcade, 2005. "Transport costs: measures, determinants, and regional policy implications for France," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 319-349, June.
    19. Todd M. Gabe & David S. Kraybill, 2002. "The Effect of State Economic Development Incentives on Employment Growth of Establishments," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 703-730.
    20. Henderson, J. Vernon, 2003. "Marshall's scale economies," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-28, January.
    21. Stephen R. Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to micro data methods and practice," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 1(2), pages 141-162, August.
    22. Devereux, Michael P. & Griffith, Rachel & Simpson, Helen, 2007. "Firm location decisions, regional grants and agglomeration externalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(3-4), pages 413-435, April.
    23. Diego Puga, 2002. "European regional policies in light of recent location theories," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 373-406, October.
    24. Guimaraes, Paulo & Figueiredo, Octavio & Woodward, Douglas, 2000. "Agglomeration and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in Portugal," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 115-135, January.
    25. 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.
    26. Ashcroft, Brian & Taylor, Jim, 1977. "The Movement of Manufacturing Industry and the Effect of Regional Policy," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(1), pages 84-101, March.
    27. repec:dgr:rugsom:03c27 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Elhorst, J. Paul, 2003. "Unconditional maximum likelihood estimation of dynamic models for spatial panels," Research Report 03C27, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    29. Head, C. Keith & Ries, John C. & Swenson, Deborah L., 1999. "Attracting foreign manufacturing: Investment promotion and agglomeration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 197-218, March.
    30. Kravis, Irving B. & Lipsey, Robert E., 1982. "The location of overseas production and production for export by U.S. multinational firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3-4), pages 201-223, May.
    31. Wheeler, David & Mody, Ashoka, 1992. "International investment location decisions : The case of U.S. firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 57-76, August.
    32. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    33. Judson, Ruth A. & Owen, Ann L., 1999. "Estimating dynamic panel data models: a guide for macroeconomists," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 9-15, October.
    34. Nigel Driffield & Sourafel Girma, 2003. "Regional Foreign Direct Investment and Wage Spillovers: Plant Level Evidence from the UK Electronics Industry," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(4), pages 453-474, September.
    35. Jim Taylor, 1993. "An Analysis of the Factors Determining the Geographical Distribution of Japanese Manufacturing Investment in the UK, 1984-91," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(7), pages 1209-1224, August.
    36. P Dicken & P E Lloyd, 1976. "Geographical Perspectives on United States Investment in the United Kingdom," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 8(6), pages 685-705, September.
    37. Stephen Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to microdata methods and practice," CeMMAP working papers CWP09/02, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    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. Carfora, Alfonso & Romano, Antonio A. & Ronghi, Monica & Scandurra, Giuseppe, 2017. "Renewable generation across Italian regions: Spillover effects and effectiveness of European Regional Fund," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 132-141.
    2. Adams, Laurel & Régibeau, Pierre & Rockett, Katharine, 2014. "Incentives to create jobs: Regional subsidies, national trade policy and foreign direct investment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 102-119.
    3. Wren, Colin & Jones, Jonathan, 2009. "Re-investment and the survival of foreign-owned plants," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 214-223, March.
    4. Colin Wren & Jonathan Jones, 2011. "Assessing The Regional Impact Of Grants On Fdi Location: Evidence From U.K. Regional Policy, 1985–2005," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 497-517, August.

    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. Jonathan Jones & Colin Wren, 2008. "FDI Location Across British Regions and Inward Investment Policy," SERC Discussion Papers 0013, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Colin Wren & Jonathan Jones, 2011. "Assessing The Regional Impact Of Grants On Fdi Location: Evidence From U.K. Regional Policy, 1985–2005," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 497-517, August.
    3. Jones, Jonathan & Wren, Colin, 2008. "Re-investment and the survival of foreign-owned plants," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 33138, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Wren, Colin & Jones, Jonathan, 2009. "Re-investment and the survival of foreign-owned plants," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 214-223, March.
    5. Jonathan Jones & Colin Wren, 2008. "Re-Investment and the Survival of Foreign-Owned Plants," SERC Discussion Papers 0003, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Mayer, T. & Mejean, I. & Nefussi, B., 2010. "The location of domestic and foreign production affiliates by French multinational firms," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 115-128, September.
    7. Jones, Jonathan & Wren, Colin, 2009. "The dynamics of FDI location: a markov analysis for British regions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 33497, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    9. 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.
    10. Mayer, T. & Mejean, I. & Nefussi, B., 2010. "The location of domestic and foreign production affiliates by French multinational firms," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 115-128, September.
    11. Andrea Ascani & Riccardo Crescenzi & Simona Iammarino, 2015. "Economic Institutions and the Location Strategies of European Multinationals in their Geographical Neighbourhood," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 97, European Institute, LSE.
    12. João Ricardo Faria, 2016. "Location Clusters, FDI and Local Entrepreneurs: Consistent Public Policy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 7(4), pages 858-868, December.
    13. Kandogan, Yener, 2012. "Regional foreign direct investment potential of the states within the US," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 306-322.
    14. Disdier, Anne-Celia & Mayer, Thierry, 2004. "How different is Eastern Europe? Structure and determinants of location choices by French firms in Eastern and Western Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 280-296, June.
    15. repec:zbw:rwirep:0100 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. 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.
    17. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8mcgcdbi is not listed on IDEAS
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8mcgcdbi is not listed on IDEAS
    19. 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.
    20. Jonas Kleineick & Andrea Ascani & Martijn Smit, 2020. "Multinational investments across Europe: a multilevel analysis," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 40(1), pages 67-105, April.
    21. Procher, Vivien, 2009. "Agglomeration Effects and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment – Evidence from French First-time Movers," Ruhr Economic Papers 100, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    22. Colin Wren & Jonathan Jones, 2012. "On the Relative Importance of Intermediate and Non-Intermediate Goods for FDI Location: A New Approach," ERSA conference papers ersa12p165, European Regional Science Association.
    23. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8mcgcdbi is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Vivien Procher, 2009. "Agglomeration Effects and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment – Evidence from French First-time Movers," Ruhr Economic Papers 0100, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

    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:ehl:lserod:33204. 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: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.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.