IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/kud/kuiedp/0902.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Examining the Regional Aspect of Foreign Direct Investment to Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Rytter Sunesen

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

This paper applies a general-to-specific analysis to detect regularities in the driving forces of foreign direct investment (FDI) that can explain why some regions are more attractive to foreign investors than others. The results suggest that regional differences in FDI inflows to African, Asian and Latin American countries can be fully explained by structural characteristics rather than fixed regional effects. The implication of this finding is that countries that are lagging behind other developing countries in attracting foreign capital have the opportunity to implement policies aimed at improving the investment climate for foreign investors. This also means that there is no African bias. Among a large number of return and risk variables applied in the empirical literature, growth and inflation turn out to be the only robust and significant FDI determinants across regions although the size of their impact varies.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Rytter Sunesen, 2009. "Examining the Regional Aspect of Foreign Direct Investment to Developing Countries," Discussion Papers 09-02, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:0902
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econ.ku.dk/english/research/publications/wp/dp_2009/0902.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adugna Lemi & Sisay Asefa, 2003. "Foreign Direct Investment and Uncertainty: Empirical Evidence from Africa," The African Finance Journal, Africagrowth Institute, vol. 5(1), pages 36-67.
    2. Tony Addison & Almas Heshmati, 2003. "The New Global Determinants of FDI Flows to Developing Countries: The Importance of ICT and Democratization," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2003-45, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Campos, Nauro F. & Kinoshita, Yuko, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment and Structural Reforms: Evidence from Eastern Europe and Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 3332, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Bengoa, Marta & Sanchez-Robles, Blanca, 2003. "Foreign direct investment, economic freedom and growth: new evidence from Latin America," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 529-545, September.
    5. Elizabeth Asiedu & Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong, 2008. "The Effect of the Liberalization of Investment: Policies on Employment and Investment of Multinational Corporations in Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 20(1), pages 48-65.
    6. Klimis Vogiatzoglou, 2007. "Vertical Specialization and New Determinants of FDI: Evidence from South and East Asia," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 245-266.
    7. Wezel, Torsten, 2003. "Determinants of German Foreign Direct Investment in Latin American and Asian Emerging Markets in the 1990s," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2003,11, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    8. V.N. Balasubramanyam, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment," Chapters, in: Amitava Krishna Dutt & Jaime Ros (ed.), International Handbook of Development Economics, Volumes 1 & 2, volume 0, chapter 39, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2007. "Governance Matters VI: Aggregate and Individual Governance Indicators, 1996-2006," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4280, The World Bank.
    10. Hubert Janicki & Phanindra Wunnava, 2004. "Determinants of foreign direct investment: empirical evidence from EU accession candidates," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(5), pages 505-509.
    11. Elizabeth Asiedu, 2006. "Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: The Role of Natural Resources, Market Size, Government Policy, Institutions and Political Instability," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 63-77, January.
    12. Benhua Yang, 2007. "Autocracy, Democracy, and FDI Inflows to the Developing Countries," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 419-439.
    13. Jo Jakobsen & Indra De Soysa, 2006. "Do Foreign Investors Punish Democracy? Theory and Empirics, 1984–2001," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 383-410, August.
    14. repec:bla:devpol:v:26:y:2008:i:1:p:79-89 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Asiedu, Elizabeth & Lien, Donald, 2004. "Capital Controls and Foreign Direct Investment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 479-490, March.
    16. Shigeyuki Hamori & Ivohasina Razafimahefa, 2005. "An Empirical Analysis of FDI Competitiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa and Developing Countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 6(20), pages 1-8.
    17. Morisset, Jacques, 2000. "Foreign direct investment in Africa : policies also matter," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2481, The World Bank.
    18. Azmat Gani, 2007. "Governance and foreign direct investment links: evidence from panel data estimations," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(10), pages 753-756.
    19. W. A. Naude & W. F. Krugell, 2007. "Investigating geography and institutions as determinants of foreign direct investment in Africa using panel data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(10), pages 1223-1233.
    20. 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.
    21. Frenkel, Michael & Funke, Katja & Stadtmann, Georg, 2004. "A panel analysis of bilateral FDI flows to emerging economies," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 281-300, September.
    22. 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.
    23. Omar M. Al Nasser, 2007. "The Determinants of the U.S. Foreign Direct Investment: Does the Region Matter?," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 37-51.
    24. Hendry, David F., 1995. "Dynamic Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198283164.
    25. Valerija Botrić & Lorena Škuflić, 2006. "Main Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the Southeast European Countries," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 13(2), pages 359-377, July.
    26. Hein, Simeon, 1992. "Trade Strategy and the Dependency Hypothesis: A Comparison of Policy, Foreign Investment, and Economic Growth in Latin America and East Asia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(3), pages 495-521, April.
    27. Bevan, Alan A. & Estrin, Saul, 2004. "The determinants of foreign direct investment into European transition economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 775-787, December.
    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. Rishma Vedd & Keji Chen & Nataliya Yassinski, 2014. "Country and Industry Factor Influence on Investment in Latin American Emerging Markets," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 8(3), pages 47-57.

    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. 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.
    2. Chali Nondo & Mulugeta S. Kahsai & Yohannes G. Hailu, 2016. "Does institutional quality matter in foreign direct investment?: Evidence from Sub-Saharan African countries," African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 12-30.
    3. Iamsiraroj, Sasi, 2016. "The foreign direct investment–economic growth nexus," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 116-133.
    4. John Anyanwu, 2011. "Working Paper 136 - Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to Africa, 1980-2007," Working Paper Series 327, African Development Bank.
    5. Zaneta Kubik, 2023. "The role of agricultural sector performance in attracting foreign direct investment in the food and beverages sector. Evidence from planned investments in Africa," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 875-903, July.
    6. Groh, Alexander P. & Wich, Matthias, 2009. "A composite measure to determine a host country's attractiveness for foreign direct investment," IESE Research Papers D/833, IESE Business School.
    7. Groh, Alexander Peter & Wich, Matthias, 2012. "Emerging economies' attraction of foreign direct investment," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 210-229.
    8. Blanco, Luisa R., 2012. "The Spatial Interdependence of FDI in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1337-1351.
    9. Rosa Forte & Nancy Santos, 2015. "A cluster analysis of FDI in Latin America," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 52(1), pages 25-56, May.
    10. Cleeve, Emmanuel A. & Debrah, Yaw & Yiheyis, Zelealem, 2015. "Human Capital and FDI Inflow: An Assessment of the African Case," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-14.
    11. Akhtaruzzaman, M. & Berg, Nathan & Hajzler, Christopher, 2017. "Expropriation risk and FDI in developing countries: Does return of capital dominate return on capital?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 84-107.
    12. Bailey, Nicholas, 2018. "Exploring the relationship between institutional factors and FDI attractiveness: A meta-analytic review," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 139-148.
    13. Dzianis Mukha, 2019. "National Economy Attractiveness For Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence From Belarus And European Region Countries," Economy & Business Journal, International Scientific Publications, Bulgaria, vol. 13(1), pages 43-60.
    14. repec:wsr:wpaper:y:2011:i:076 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Jean-Francois HOARAU, 2009. "INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS eTRANGERS ET INTeGRATION ReGIONALE : UN eTAT DES LIEUX POUR LE MARCHe COMMUN D’AFRIQUE DE L’EST ET DU SUD," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 29, pages 69-103.
    16. Jumanne, Bilali Basesa & Keong, Choong Chee, 2017. "Foreign Direct Investment and Public Sector Management and Institutions: The Acquaintances in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Low-Income Economies," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 5(2), July.
    17. Antonakakis, Nikolaos & Tondl, Gabriele, 2012. "Do determinants of FDI to developing countries differ among OECD investors? Insights from Bayesian model averaging," Discussion Papers 1/12, Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, Institute for European Integration.
    18. Reece, Christopher & Sam, Abdoul G., 2012. "Impact of Pension Privatization on Foreign Direct Investment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 291-302.
    19. Anirudh Shingal & Maximiliano Mendez-Parra, 2020. "African greenfield investment and the likely effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Working Paper 387, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India.
    20. Turan Subasat & Sotirios Bellos, 2013. "Governance and foreign direct investment in Latin America: A panel gravity model approach," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 50(1), pages 107-131, May.
    21. Eric Evans Osei Opoku & Alex O. Acheampong & Janet Dzator & Nana Kwabena Kufuor, 2022. "Does environmental sustainability attract foreign investment? Evidence from developing countries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3542-3573, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    foreign direct investment; Africa; Asia; Latin America; general-to-specifc;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

    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:kud:kuiedp:0902. 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: Thomas Hoffmann (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/okokudk.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.