IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/htr/hcecon/414.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Attracting FDI: Are Other Government Policies More Important than Taxation in Attracting FDI?

Author

Listed:

Abstract

This paper attempts to broaden the existing empirical literature on foreign direct investment by incorporating government expenditures (both investment in infrastructure and consumption) as well as tax, classical location factors, institutional factors that may hinder business investment (such as corruption), and agglomeration effects. We investigate the determinants of FDI inflows in two unbalanced panel data sets of 47 countries from 1995-2002 and 37 countries from 1996-2002. We use fixed country and year effects and examine different infrastructure measures. The evidence indicates that lower taxes, lower corruption, and better infrastructure attract FDI. Government consumption expenditures negatively impact FDI inflows. The magnitude of the response of FDI to our investment in infrastructure is similar to that of corruption and taxes in elasticity terms.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy J. Goodspeed & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Li Zhang, 2006. "Attracting FDI: Are Other Government Policies More Important than Taxation in Attracting FDI?," Economics Working Paper Archive at Hunter College 414, Hunter College Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:htr:hcecon:414
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://econ.hunter.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/RePEc/papers/HunterEconWP414.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dollar, David & Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Mengistae, Taye, 2006. "Investment climate and international integration," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 1498-1516, September.
    2. Young, Kan H., 1988. "The Effects of Taxes and Rates of Return on Foreign Direct Investment in the United States," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 41(1), pages 109-121, March.
    3. Jason Cummins & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1995. "The Tax Sensitivity of Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Firm-Level Panel Data," NBER Chapters, in: The Effects of Taxation on Multinational Corporations, pages 123-152, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Shang-Jin Wei, 2000. "How Taxing is Corruption on International Investors?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 1-11, February.
    5. 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.
    6. Harry Grubert & John Mutti, 1991. "Financial Flows versus Capital Spending: Alternative Measures of U.S.-Canadian Investment and Trade in the Analysis of Taxes," NBER Chapters, in: International Economic Transactions: Issues in Measurement and Empirical Research, pages 293-320, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. David W Loree & Stephen E Guisinger, 1995. "Policy and Non-Policy Determinants of U.S. Equity Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(2), pages 281-299, June.
    8. Michael J. Boskin & William G. Gale, 1987. "New Results on the Effects of Tax Policy on the International Location of Investment," NBER Chapters, in: The Effects of Taxation on Capital Accumulation, pages 201-222, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Alan J. Auerbach & Kevin Hassett & Joel Slemrod, 1993. "Taxation and Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: A Reconsideration of the Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: Studies in International Taxation, pages 119-148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Young, Kan H., 1988. "The Effects of Taxes and Rates of Return on Foreign Direct Investment in the United States," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 41(1), pages 109-21, March.
    11. Michael J. Boskin, 1987. "Tax Policy and the International Location of Investment," NBER Chapters, in: Taxes and Capital Formation, pages 73-82, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Asiedu, Elizabeth, 2002. "On the Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment to Developing Countries: Is Africa Different?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 107-119, January.
    13. Jan Ondrich & Michael Wasylenko, 1993. "Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: Magnitudes and Location Choice of New Manufacturing Plants," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number fdius, December.
    14. Shang-Jin Wei, 2000. "Local Corruption and Global Capital Flows," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 31(2), pages 303-354.
    15. Sebastian Edwards, 1990. "Capital Flows, Foreign Direct Investment, and Debt-Equity Swaps in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 3497, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. James R. Hines & Eric M. Rice, 1994. "Fiscal Paradise: Foreign Tax Havens and American Business," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 149-182.
    17. Giovannini, Alberto & Hubbard, R. Glenn & Slemrod, Joel (ed.), 1993. "Studies in International Taxation," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226297019, September.
    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. Miroslav Mateev & Iliya Tsekov, 2014. "Are there any top FDI performers among EU-15 and CEE countries? A comparative panel data analysis," Financial Theory and Practice, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 38(3), pages 337-374.
    2. Diallo Mamadou Saliou Kokouma & Kaning Xu, 2013. "Attracting Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Africa: Determinants and Policies - The Case of Guinea," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(4), pages 52-71, October.
    3. A. J. Khadaroo & B. Seetanah, 2010. "Transport infrastructure and foreign direct investment," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 103-123.
    4. Yapatake Kossele Thales Pacific, 2015. "Foreign Direct Investment in Anglophone and Francophone African Countries," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 5(11), pages 337-350, November.
    5. Magdalena RADULESCU & Elena Nolica DRUICA, 2011. "FDIs and investment policy in some European countries after their EU accession. Challenges during the crisis," Romanian Journal of Economics, Institute of National Economy, vol. 33(2(42)), pages 169-183, December.
    6. . OLABISI, Olabode E & LAU, Evan, 2018. "Causality Testing between Trade Openness, Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: Fresh Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 71(4), pages 437-464.
    7. Paulo Elicha Tembe & Kangning Xu, 2012. "Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: Determinants and Policies-A Comparative Study between Mozambique and China," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 3(4), pages 69-81, October.
    8. Ted Hayduk, 2019. "Leveraging sport mega events for international entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 857-881, September.
    9. Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Helder Costa Carreira & Dan Li & Fernando Ribeiro Serra, 2016. "The Moderating Effect of Home Country Corruption on the Host Country’s Ability to Attract FDI," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 13(4), pages 94-117, July.
    10. Cicatiello, Lorenzo & De Simone, Elina & Ercolano, Salvatore & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio, 2021. "Assessing the impact of fiscal transparency on FDI inflows," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. John Anyanwu, 2011. "Working Paper 136 - Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to Africa, 1980-2007," Working Paper Series 327, African Development Bank.
    12. Oana Cristina POPOVICI & Adrian Cantemir CĂLIN & Diana IVANA & Sorin DAN, 2021. "FDI Determinants Revisited: Extensive Evidence," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(4), pages 103-123, December.
    13. Dharmapala, Dhammika & Hines Jr., James R., 2009. "Which countries become tax havens?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(9-10), pages 1058-1068, October.
    14. repec:lic:licosd:19307 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Godfred William Cantah & Gabriel William Brafu-Insaidoo & Emmanuel Agyapong Wiafe & Abass Adams, 2018. "FDI and Trade Policy Openness in Sub-Saharan Africa," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(1), pages 97-116, January.
    16. Yu Fu & Agus Supriyadi & Tao Wang, 2018. "China’s Outward FDI in Indonesia: Spatial Patterns and Determinants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, 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. Timothy Goodspeed & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Li Zhang, 2011. "Public Policies and FDI Location: Differences between Developing and Developed Countries," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 67(2), pages 171-191, June.
    2. Ruud A. de Mooij & Sjef Ederveen, 2006. "What a difference does it make? Understanding the empirical literature on taxation and international capital flows," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 261, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    3. de Mooij, Ruud A & Ederveen, Sjef, 2003. "Taxation and Foreign Direct Investment: A Synthesis of Empirical Research," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 673-693, November.
    4. James R. Hines, Jr., 1996. "Tax Policy and the Activities of Multinational Corporations," NBER Working Papers 5589, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Michael P Devereux, 2007. "The Impact of Taxation on the Location of Capital, Firms and Profit: a Survey of Empirical Evidence," Working Papers 0702, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.
    6. Ruud A. de Mooij & Sjef Ederveen, 2005. "Explaining the Variation in Empirical Estimates of Tax Elasticities of Foreign Direct Investment," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 05-108/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. de Mooij, Ruud A & Ederveen, Sjef, 2003. "Taxation and Foreign Direct Investment: A Synthesis of Empirical Research," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 673-693, November.
    8. Desai, Mihir A. & Foley, C. Fritz & Hines, James Jr., 2004. "Foreign direct investment in a world of multiple taxes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 2727-2744, December.
    9. Zhiyong An, 2012. "Taxation and foreign direct investment (FDI): empirical evidence from a quasi-experiment in China," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(5), pages 660-676, October.
    10. Azémar, Céline & Delios, Andrew, 2008. "Tax competition and FDI: The special case of developing countries," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 85-108, March.
    11. James R. Hines Jr., 2005. "Do Tax Havens Flourish?," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 19, pages 65-100, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Lars P. Feld & Jost H. Heckemeyer, 2011. "Fdi And Taxation: A Meta‐Study," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 233-272, April.
    13. Céline Azémar & Rodolphe Desbordes & Jean-Louis Mucchielli, 2007. "Do tax sparing agreements contribute to the attraction of FDI in developing countries?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 14(5), pages 543-562, October.
    14. 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.
    15. Roberta De Santis & Maria Cristina Mercuri & Claudio Vicarelli, 2001. "Taxes and Location of Foreign Direct Investments: an Empirical Analysys for the European Union Countries," ISAE Working Papers 24, ISTAT - Italian National Institute of Statistics - (Rome, ITALY).
    16. Timothy Goodspeed & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & JLi Zhang, 2006. "Are Government Policies More Important Than Taxation in Attracting FDI," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0614, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    17. Gordon, Roger H. & Hines, James Jr, 2002. "International taxation," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 28, pages 1935-1995, Elsevier.
    18. Jason Cummins & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1995. "The Tax Sensitivity of Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Firm-Level Panel Data," NBER Chapters, in: The Effects of Taxation on Multinational Corporations, pages 123-152, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Ying Gan & Buhui Qiu, 2019. "Escape from the USA: Government debt-to-GDP ratio, country tax competitiveness, and US-OECD cross-border M&As," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(7), pages 1156-1183, September.
    20. Gastanaga, Victor M. & Nugent, Jeffrey B. & Pashamova, Bistra, 1998. "Host Country Reforms and FDI Inflows: How Much Difference do they Make?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(7), pages 1299-1314, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    FDI; Infrastructure; Determinants of FDI; Corruption; Taxes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H - Public Economics
    • O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:htr:hcecon:414. 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: Jonathan Conning (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dhcunus.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.