This thesis addresses the relationship between institutions and foreign direct investments (FDI). While the issue of how institutions attract FDI (selection) is quite well-researched, the empirical evidence for institutions spreading through FDI (influence) is more ambiguous. We argue that past studies have neglected issues of endogeneity and interdependence in their modelling. We amend these issues by using a Stochastic Actor-Oriented network model which allows for interdependent and endogenous processes. The thesis also addresses the mechanisms governing the general relation between FDI and institutions and what these can tell us about institutional change and the process of globalisation. The model provides no evidence that FDI helps to spread institutions from home to host countries, but it does provide evidence that the selection effect can be an important dynamic between FDI and a certain set of institutions. Finally, we argue that FDI does not seem to be a contributory factor to institutional convergence.

Over the past decades, globalisation dynamics have experienced a shift in regard to their driving economic sectors. At the beginning of the 21st century, the global economy will no longer be primarily driven by manufacturing companies but by companies in the service sector. Among them are large retail companies that, with their demand-driven supply chains, organise the global economy to a significant degree. The retail sector represents a particular case within internationalisation dynamics. With its special characteristics and logics it poses special challenges to internationally expanding companies. This is reflected in the facts that the intensive expansion phase of retail trade began relatively late compared to other sectors and that the sector’s level of internationalisation is still comparatively low. This paper focuses on two aspects of retail internationalisation that are underrepre-sented in research. (1) International expansion is by no means the final stage of international economic integration. Coe and Wrigley (2017) speak of a new era of globalised distribution, characterised by, among other things, the concentration of leading retailers on their strong foreign markets and the withdrawal of their operations from other countries. However, our understanding of these dynamics, their drivers, and their effects is inconsistent. This dissertation contributes to closing this gap and brings a new empirical perspective into the research literature by discussing the perspective of the market of inward for-eign direct investment (FDI). This is novel as, until now, research in this area has largely been based on the view of internationalizing companies’ Western home markets. In addition, this dissertation adds a new level of investigation through the exhaustive examination of a market (for the sub-sector of grocery retailing). (2) Beyond the import of financial capital, potential knowledge transfers into the local economy are an important argument for opening up to FDI. The extent to which the knowledge base of an economy is actually improved and upgrading processes of local companies are driven by the entry of a transnational company (TNC), seems to depend strongly on the degree of a TNC’s local embeddedness. This varies according to the sector and the corporate strategy. We know very little about knowledge transfer and up-grading in the context of internationalisation processes in the retail sector, as the discussion on cross-border knowledge transfer through FDI and the discussion on the internationalisation of the retail sector have so far largely been conducted separately. This dissertation contributes to the connection of these research strands. In this respect, it helps to correct the ‘production bias’, the strong orientation of the scientific discourse on knowledge transfer and upgrading towards the manufacturing, technology-intensive industry. The overall goal of the dissertation is to make an empirically derived contribution to research on retail internationalisation and its local effects in emerging markets from the perspective of relational economic geography. The dissertation addresses the dynamics, drivers, decision-making processes, and traces of FDI in the retail sector. In addition, it examines horizontal and vertical knowledge transfers and the upgrading processes of local suppliers of fresh food triggered by FDI. The study is based on the global production network-approach (Henderson et al. 2002), which conceptualises TNCs as networks whose subsidiaries are embedded in a particular context. The global value chain-approach (Gereffi et al. 2005) and the concept of up-grading, which is discussed in its context, are used as a framework for analysis. This approach is helpful to analyse the mobility of actors within a value chain toward a more advantageous position and the role of buyer companies in these developments. The dissertation combines the GVC research with the literature on (local) knowledge transfer. It uses the distinction between explicit and implicit knowledge developed by Polanyi (1958) to analyze the extent to which knowledge is transferred by FDI across national borders. Thus, the dissertation contributes to the link between GVC/GPN research and research on international knowledge transfer/the local acquisition of skills, which has been largely lacking. The dissertation uses the regional example of Turkey. The country stands as an example for the group of emerging countries. Due to dynamic economic development and significant FDI inflows, it represents a suitable and interesting case in the context of this thesis’s research interest. To gain a deeper understanding of the internationalisation dynamics of the retail sector, including their drivers and effects on local economic development, the study follows a qualitative research approach. The analyses are based on data collected in guideline-based, qualitative interviews. A total of 71 semi-structured interviews were conducted in Turkey between summer 2015 and spring 2016. Among the interviewees are 32 managers of transnational and local food retailers, 28 managers of supplier companies of fresh fruit and vegetables, and 10 experts of the retail and agricultural sector in Turkey. The study shows current dynamics and drivers of the retail sector’s internationalisation processes. At the beginning of the new millennium, the investment trend in Turkey reversed and foreign divestments (FD) started to dominate the sector. In the meantime, all transnational food retailers have divested from the market. This development illus-trates the dynamics of the new era of retail distribution to an extent not previously described. The actors in the (former) host market emphasise the defensive character of this FD. They see the operational challenges and the inability or unwillingness of the TNC to adjust to the market as reasons for the failures in the foreign market. This assessment contradicts the statements of the management in the TNC's home markets and partly also the scientific literature, which is mainly based on interviews with these actors. They emphasise the offensive character of FD. By bringing together the perspec-tives of the host- and the home market a holistic picture of the decision-making process behind FD emerges. It shows that the divestment decision is not only the reversal of an expansion decision, but follows its own logic (see Figure 8 on page 72). The dissertation demonstrates that foreign retailers import company-specific re-sources from their corporate networks into the host market and thus influence the development of the local retail sector. Comparing the results of this work on the channels of horizontal knowledge transfer with the results of the literature subject to a produc-tion bias, it becomes clear that demonstration and imitation effects are of particular importance due to the high visibility of retail practices. However, despite the compara-tively low-tech nature of retail, transfer processes go far beyond demonstration and imitation. All transfer channels discussed in the literature on the manufacturing sector are relevant to retail. The transfer of implicit knowledge takes place in particular through joint ventures/acquisitions and the fluctuation of personnel. The study further reveals vertical knowledge transfers from foreign retailers to local suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables and shows that TNCs proactively shape the de-velopment of their suppliers in the host market. Motivated by an initial lack of adequate suppliers, transnational retailers are proving to be an important driver for the moderni-sation of this supplying industry. The deep (purchasing) network embeddedness of re-tail favours knowledge transfer through backward integration. In order to remain a permanent part of the modernizing supplier network, suppliers must vertically inte-grate functions up and down the value chain, including agricultural production. This is driven forward by retailers through direct involvement and through the targeted selection of suppliers. After TNCs withdraw their capital from the host market, the knowledge of the subsidiaries, in former employees and incorporated in established practices, remains in the host market. The dissertation shows that local companies that take over the TNCs’ subsidiaries use this knowledge in different ways. The successful among them develop hybrid business strategies. They use the TNCs' company-specific knowledge, in particular purchasing practices. But they also bring their local resources into the company which is particularly expressed in a deep sales-side network embeddedness and speed in decision-making processes. The dissertation makes conceptual contributions at various levels. First, it illustrates the broad spectrum from localisation to internationalisation within which the processes summarised under the term globalisation are classified. Localisation processes seem to overlap with internationalisation processes, especially when internationalisation is driven by market seeking motives, which are often central in the service sector. The dis-sertation further expands the research literature by linking the literature on retail internationalisation with the literature on local knowledge transfer in the context of FDI. It thereby contributes to a better understanding of the role of TNCs in the dissemination of knowledge in global networks or chains and the formation of local capabilities. Detached from the transnational and sectoral context, the study establishes causal links between FDI and local effects by providing insights into mechanisms of knowledge transfer that remain hidden in quantitative research. The work moreover contributes to the literature on upgrading in GVCs by refining the upgrading concept for the specific context of the agri-food sector. The results of the dissertation are of applied relevance for both actors from emerging countries receiving FDI and for managers of transnational retail companies. One of the most important findings for actors from FDI-receiving economies is that FDI in the re-tail sector can also be a constructive force. A certain degree of target compatibility can create advantages for all parties involved. Local retailers can acquire knowledge from international retailers operating in the country. The dissertation shows retail managers how they can make use of this possibility. It also shows managers of local suppliers of fresh food how they can take advantage of upgrading opportunities through cooperation with foreign retailers and how they can secure themselves a place in the supply network in the long term. The dissertation further provides orientation for managers of transnational retailers in their entry into foreign markets. It gives insights into how to actively embed in the host country in the context of cross-border expansion and which factors should be taken into account when deciding on a FD.

In this thesis, I first investigate the relation between the aggregate unemployment rate and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and outflows. To study this relationship, I use a panel data set that contains 45 (developed and developing) countries observed from 1987 through 2008, and I employ Arellano and Bonds generalized methods of moments (ABGMM) estimation method for dynamic panel data. My results show that FDI inflows and outflows are not determinants of the aggregate unemployment rate. In addition, in line with macroeconomic theory, the previous level of aggregate unemployment has a positive impact on the current level of aggregate unemployment. Again, as macroeconomic theory suggests, my results show that per capita real gross domestic product (RGDP) has a negative effect on the current level of aggregate unemployment. Second, I study the long-run relationship between exports and per capita gross domestic product (instrumented by total population) using a panel data set of 51 countries from 1970 through 2008. To study this relationship, I employ the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) estimation method. I find that the percentage of exports in nominal gross domestic products (GDP) is sensitive to changes in the populations of host countries and, hence, to the changes in their GDP. In addition, my results show that the agreement on trade related investment measures increased the percentage of exports in the nominal GDP of developed host countries more than it did in developing host countries.

This study investigates the significant rates of French direct investment in the Czechoslovak Republic during the interwar years, specifically from the end of the First World War until the beginning of the Great Depression. It explores the intersection between external factors that occurred on the European continent and internal factors within the Czechoslovak Republic that drove French direct investment in the new republic​ ​during this period. This descriptive thesis uses two case studies of the French economic giant Schneider-Creusot's activities in the Czechoslovak Republic to better understand those motivations. The results from the case studies reveal that the Czechoslovak Republic offered a unique combination of economic stability, natural strategic location, and notable levels of historic productivity. These factors, coupled with the outcome of the Russian Revolution and the Treaty of Versailles, attracted high levels of French​ ​direct investment from 1918 to 1929. French foreign policy in the region was driven more heavily by economic fears and opportunities than by political ones. Key Words Czechoslovak Republic, France, Schneider-Creusot, foreign direct investment, interwar period Title Economic and Political Motivations for French Direct Investment in the Czechoslovak Republic During...

The dissertation comprises of two chapters that use applied econometric techniques to analyze policy related questions that have implications for educational outcomes and one chapter that assesses factors that influence foreign direct investment inflows. In the first chapter I study the impact of equity premiums on the completion numbers of minority students. In the second chapter I assess the impact that state funding cuts for higher education may have on completion numbers across racial and ethnic lines. For the last chapter I study the relationship between intellectual property rights and foreign direct investmentFor chapter one, I study the impact that equity premiums inclusion in performance-based funding models have on the completion numbers of minority students. Using a combination of administrative data over the period 2004 to 2018 with two-way fixed effects methods, I investigate the impact of the premiums on completion numbers of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students. My estimates show that in the short run (up to 2 years post-policy) there are no changes in the completion numbers of at-risk students in adopting and non-adopting states. Secondly, there is heterogeneity in policy effects across ethnicity, in particular Hispanic student completion numbers decrease in adopting states. Thirdly, public institutions become more selective in their admissions of at-risk students post-policy, which may lead to the overall null effects I establish. For chapter two, I investigate whether there exist variations in how state funding cuts for higher education may impact on completion numbers across racial and ethnic lines. Combining administrative data from 1997 to 2018 with two-stage least squares methodology, I test how institutional state funding instrumented by total state funding may influence completion numbers across racial categories. I find that changes in state funding have no significant impact on the completion numbers for each racial category of students. For chapter three, I extend Spatz and Nunnenkamp’s (2003) analysis by using a panel dataset to determine a causal relationship between intellectual property right (IPR) protections and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. Using a fixed-effects Poisson model my results shows that IPR is a causal determinant of FDI within the manufacturing industry. My study concludes that as a country improves their IPR protections, the positive impact on FDI within the manufacturing industry, increases at a decreasing rate. / Economics

Foreign direct investments (FDI) are a crucial part of the world economy as the world has become increasingly globalized. Foreign investment can have a positive impact on the host country in many ways, such as economic growth, new technologies, and job opportunities. In the housing market, FDI can provide new housing and new options, but it can also lead to rapidly increasing housing prices. This paper sought to examine the impact of FDI on the Swedish housing market by doing a multiple regression analysis examining the relationship between FDI into the Swedish real estate sector and Swedish housing prices. The interest rate, inflation rate, and GDP per capita was used as control variables. Data was acquired from Statistics Sweden, the OECD and the Swedish central bank between 2008 and 2022. The augmented Dicky-Fuller test was used to test the data for stationarity at level and first difference. Inflation was not stationary at the first difference but at the second difference, meaning that the first difference (the change in inflation) was used instead of inflation itself. The variables were then tested for cointegration before the regression output was analyzed. The results show that FDI is significant and has a positive impact on Swedish house prices. The interest rate and the change in inflation were also significant, while GDP per capita was not significant. We recommend that policymakers monitor the flow of FDI and be cautious of speculative inflows that aim for an immediate return on investment, since FDI has numerous beneficial effects on various aspects of the economy. / Utländska direktinvesteringar (FDI) har blivit en viktig del av världsekonomin eftersom världen har blivit alltmer globaliserad. Utländska investeringar kan ha en positiv påverkan på värdlandet på många sätt, till exempel genom ekonomisk tillväxt, ny teknik och nya arbetstillfällen. På bostadsmarknaden kan utländska direktinvesteringar ge nya bostäder och nya alternativ, men de kan också leda till snabbt stigande bostadspriser. Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka effekterna av utländska direktinvesteringar i den svenska bostadsmarknaden genom att göra en multipel regressionsanalys av förhållandet mellan utländska direktinvesteringar i den svenska fastighetssektorn och de svenska bostadspriserna. Räntan, inflationstakten och BNP per capita användes som kontrollvariabler. Data hämtades från Statistiska centralbyrån, OECD och Sveriges riksbank mellan 2008 och 2022. Det augmenterade Dicky-Fuller-testet användes för att testa data för stationaritet på nivå och första differensen. Inflationen var inte stationär vid den första skillnaden utan vid den andra skillnaden, vilket innebär att den första skillnaden (förändringen i inflationen) användes i stället för själva inflationen. Variablerna testades sedan för kointegration innan regressionsresultaten analyserades. Resultaten visar att FDI är signifikant och har en positiv inverkan på svenska huspriser. Räntan och förändringen i inflationen var också signifikanta, medan BNP per capita inte var signifikant. Vi rekommenderar att beslutsfattare övervakar flödet av utländska direktinvesteringar och är försiktiga med spekulativa inflöden som syftar till en omedelbar avkastning på investeringen, eftersom utländska direktinvesteringar har många gynnsamma effekter på olika aspekter av ekonomin.

This economic history and examination of the rubber products manufacturing industry in Peninsular Malaysia contributes to the subject of resource-based industrialization in the field of development studies. The development of the industry is traced from the 1920s to 2005 when the Second Industrial Master Plan came to an end. The findings are that local interests control 80 per cent of the industry, with foreign direct investment in the remaining 20 per cent, either as subsidiary companies of overseas manufacturers or in joint ventures with Malaysian investors. The industry has a dualistic structure, with foreign-owned and joint venture companies typically being more heavily capitalized and employing a larger workforce than wholly Malaysian-owned companies. Foreign and joint venture enterprises are more likely to export a greater volume of production than local firms. Nevertheless, the industry as a whole has a strong export-orientation and Malaysian-based exporters sell into markets worldwide. A detailed examination of the industrial components production sector by means of a questionnaire indicates that Malaysian producers rely on the Malaysian Rubber Board for the transfer of manufacturing technology. Technology transfer in the foreign and joint venture sector is from parent companies and joint venture associates overseas. The conclusion is that the rubber manufacturing industry is vertically integrated with local production of natural rubber used as raw material to produce a range of goods for sale to domestic and international markets. The 80 per cent Malaysian component indicates a stable domestic industry ably supported by local technology resources.

Структура магистерской диссертации включает в себя введение, три главы, заключение, список использованных источников и приложения. Во введении обоснована актуальность темы исследования, поставлена цель и определены задачи, выделен объект и предмет, обозначена научная новизна, представлена методологическая и информационная база, а также раскрыта практическая значимость. В первой главе анализируются работы ряда отечественных и зарубежных экономистов. Изучены проблемы экспорта и импорта ПИИ. Рассмотрены современные методы стимулирования и регулирования поступления прямых иностранных инвестиций в экономику страны. Во второй главе проводится практический анализ факторов привлекательности ПИИ, оцениваются конкурентные преимущества привлечения инвестиций в развитые и развивающиеся страны, проводится анализ показателей, влияющих на приток ПИИ. Третья глава включает такие аспекты, выявление проблем привлечения прямых иностранных инвестиций на примере стран США и Бразилии, предложены пути совершенствования инвестиционного климата, а также рассмотрены возможности применения международного опыта привлечения ПИИ для России. В заключении сформированы основные выводы. / The structure of the master's thesis includes an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, a list of sources used and appendices. In the introduction, the relevance of the research topic is justified, the goal is set and the tasks are defined, the object and subject are highlighted, the scientific novelty is indicated, the methodological and information base is presented, and the practical significance is disclosed. The first chapter analyzes the work of a number of domestic and foreign economists. The problems of export and import of FDI have been studied. Modern methods of stimulating and regulating the flow of foreign direct investment into the country's economy are considered. The second chapter provides a practical analysis of the factors of the attractiveness of FDI, assesses the competitive advantages of attracting investment to developed and developing countries, analyzes the indicators that affect the inflow of FDI. The third chapter includes such aspects as the identification of problems of attracting foreign direct investment on the example of the USA and Brazil, the ways to improve the investment climate are proposed, and the possibilities of applying international experience in attracting FDI for Russia are considered. In conclusion, the main conclusions are formed.

Labour migration to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been occurring forseveral decades. Most of the GCC countries regulate this process through the Kafala System, alegal regime through which individuals and companies can sponsor foreigners with whom theyhave concluded an employment contract. But why do these countries bring millions of foreignersto their lands and what rights does the Kafala System guarantee them? Are there any negativeeconomic and political consequences that result from the way that the Kafala System has beenconceived in the GCC countries? If so, how can this system be reformed so that it produces moredesirable economic and political outcomes? This thesis explores these questions in the contextof the Kafala System in Saudi Arabia. It uses a New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach tounderstand the political, economic, and historical context within which the Kafala System arose,positing that the design of the system reflects a desire to promote economic growth and improvepolitical stability while remaining rooted in the Islamic identity of Saudi Arabia. It further showsthat for a long time, the Kafala System was successful in furthering these objectives. However, ithas lately become prone to producing suboptimal outcomes. Foreign direct investment in SaudiArabia has gone down, remittance outflows as a percentage of GDP have increased, skilled andhighly skilled workers are leaving the kingdom, and even Saudi Arabia’s political stability has beenreduced. Given all of these problems, the thesis uses Path Dependence (PD) theory to argue thatthe only reason that the Kafala System continues to be in place is that it has become a path-­‐dependent institution that is resistant to change. This took place in three steps: (1) the initial setof choices that created the Kafala System were informed by important economic and politicalconsiderations as well as an affirmation of the Kingdom’s commitment to tie all legal institutionsto an Islamic source, (2) the Kafala System successfully helped Saudi Arabia achieve rapideconomic growth and increased political stability, outcomes which served as a positive feedbackeffect, and (3) the continued use of the Kafala System has increased switching costs because oflearning effects, coordination effects, and adaptive expectations. The thesis then argues that inorder to successfully reform this system, it is important in the first instance to justify proposedchanges in light of Islamic teachings, since this will improve how receptive Saudi society is tothem. At the same time, it is also necessary to show that changes in the international investmentclimate and the transition to a global information economy constitute a ‘critical juncture’ duringwhich the problem of switching costs can be overcome and far-­‐reaching reforms can besuccessful. Of course, it goes without saying that reforms that increase protections for the rightsof workers would also align Saudi Arabia’s domestic law with its international treaty obligations.

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