This dissertation investigates the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and international trade on firm level decisions and examines the effect of policy changes on aggregate productivity and welfare in open economies. The first two chapters build an open economy model of FDI and trade where heterogeneous firms make simultaneous foreign investment and export decisions. The theoretical model is estimated using Indonesian manufacturing data. The estimated model is then used to perform a variety of counterfactual experiments to assess the positive and normative effects of international barriers to trade and FDI. I find that the impact of FDI on aggregate productivity is at least three times the impact of international trade on aggregate productivity. The third chapter, co-authored with Hiroyuki Kasahara, investigates whether importing intermediate goods improves plant performance. While addressing the issue of simultaneity between productivity shocks and the decision to import intermediates, we estimate the impact of the use of foreign intermediates on plants' productivity using plant-level Chilean manufacturing panel data. We find that by importing foreign intermediates, manufacturing plants can improve productivity. / Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2008-06-20 10:21:01.069

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Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are central drivers behind neo-liberal globalisation. These enterprises are usually centred in developed countries, with competitive operations in developing countries. The literature on MNEs and foreign direct investment usually focus on the motivation for investment, decisions on expansion, the structure of ownership of investment, the mode of entry, and the perception of risk. Fluctuation in the exchange rate is a source of uncertainty that affects MNEs' and other enterprises' market values. Enterprises' exposure to changes in the exchange rate has increased with the adoption of floating exchange rates and more intensive involvement in international trade. The conventional belief is that competition in the export market is positively related to a depreciation of the exchange rate, which will in turn be advantageous to the stock market, while the opposite is true for an appreciation of the exchange rate. If the contribution of import or intermediate imported inputs to the final production were quite large, an appreciation of the exchange rate will have a positive effect on input costs and the stock market. This study investigates the exchange rate exposure of multinational enterprises in South Africa to the bilateral exchange rate of the rand against the US dollar and the nominal effective exchange rate of the rand. It presents evidence on the direction and magnitude of currency exposure. From the empirical results presented in this study it can be concluded that the majority of MNEs are not significantly exposed to either one of the exchange rate changes. It has also been found that the majority of enterprises lose market value when their local currency depreciate against the US dollar, while the majority of South African enterprises are positively related to changes in the nominal effective exchange rate of the rand. MNEs that are not significantly exposed to changes in exchange rates could be subject to three possibilities. (1) The most obvious reason is that enterprises are not exposed to changes in the exchange rate. Enterprises in liberated (or •open") countries are more exposed to exchange rate movements as opposed to those in closed countries, such as the USA. (2) Enterprises could be engaged in on and off balance sheet hedging activities, which would reduce exchange rate exposures. (3) The methodology used in a study does not present the correct exposure results. / Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Increased globalisation over the last two decades has led to strong growth of international business activity and FDI. Despite the considerable amount of research that has been undertaken to analyse the determinants and consequences of FDI, Australia represents a country with a substantial share of foreign ownership whose FDI experience has been largely overlooked in terms of a comprehensive economic analysis. Not only has Australia received a large amount of foreign investment so far, it is also competing for more FDI. Invest Australia, Australia’s national inward investment agency, is actively promoting Australia as a location for FDI, claiming that foreign investment has made a major contribution to Australia’s economic growth and living standards of all Australians. Instantly, two key issues arise. Firstly, assuming that FDI has positive effects, what causes the inflow of FDI, i.e. what are the determinants of FDI in Australia? Secondly, given the inflow of FDI, what is its actual effect on the Australian economy, i.e. what are the consequences of FDI in Australia? / In order to analyse those questions, new and previously unused data on FDI inflows in Australia were explored by applying time-series and panel-data analysis. The time period ranges from 1981 to 2002, with differing coverage for the individual samples. A further contribution of the thesis is the search for new FDI data, bringing together and analysing datasets provided by the ABS and other statistical agencies (from the US, the UK, Japan and Germany). A detailed description of Australian FDI data was given to gain a better understanding of the Australian FDI experience and because no such comprehensive summary has been available. / The first part of the analysis focused on the determinants of FDI. Determinants of FDI according to different theoretical models were discussed and tested using five types of datasets: aggregate quarterly data, country-specific annual data, industry-specific annual data, country- and industry-specific data (from the US, the UK, Japan and Germany and US) and US form-specific data. Australian FDI inflows were found to be driven by economic growth and market size, wages and labour supply (though the signs varied across models), trade and openness (though customs duties encouraged Japanese industry-specific FDI), interest rates, exchange rate appreciation, inflation rate (which had a unexpected positive effect) and the investing country’s overall FDI outflows. Corporate tax rates were only significant in the quarterly FDI model, but they had an unpredicted positive sign. Australian FDI was driven by longer term considerations and its determinants could not be fully explained by any single theory, but a variety of theoretical models. Furthermore investment decisions depend on factors such as investment origin, the industry in which the investment takes place and the form of the investment, making aggregation difficult. / The second part of the analysis focused on consequences of FDI. Consequences of FDI according to different theoretical models were discussed and tested using two types of datasets: aggregate quarterly data and industry-specific annual data. FDI inflows had positive effects on economic growth and domestic investment, supporting the Australian government’s view that FDI is a favourable source of capital. However, the claim that FDI is favourable for Australia’s balance of payments position could not be supported by this analysis. FDI led to a reduction in export growth and no direct effect on import growth, though the effect of FDI on GDP growth led to increased import growth. Furthermore, industry-specific FDI in Australia had significant effects on employment growth (negative) and labour productivity growth (positive), while FDI growth had significant effects on real wage growth (negative) and industry concentration (positive). However, effects may differ depending on the FDI form, and Australia should focus more on attracting beneficial FDI (such as export-oriented or import-substituting FDI) rather than FDI in general.

This thesis examines the direct as well as indirect effect of foreign direct investment on Vietnam?s economy. Statistical analysis shows that a two-way linkage exists between foreign direct investment and economic growth in Vietnam. Furthermore, foreign direct investment spillovers generate strong positive impact on Vietnam?s total factor productivity through backward linkages.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006.

<p>Although there is a considerable evidence on the link between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth in developing countries, the causal relationship of these two variables still remains an important question. This study attempts to examine the possible causal relationship between FDI and economic growth in Turkey, during the period 1992 (Quarter 2) – 2006 (Quarter 3). We employed the Johansen Cointegration and Granger Causality tests for detecting the long run or short run causality. Our results showed that there is no long run relationship between the variables, which led us to search the causality in the short run. However we couldn’t find any evidence for a causality running from FDI to economic growth or economic growth to FDI in Turkey.</p>

Property rights are an important subject of economic theory and as a product of institutional qualities an essential determinant of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The purpose of this study is to examine how middle income countries with, on average, weak property rights can attract investments from abroad, given their (formal) institutions, and if differences in institutional qualities have an effect on FDI inflows. Using a panel approach to observe a sample of 20 countries over ten years, we find that there is mixed evidence supporting this theory. Whilst the theoretical background suggests that institutional qualities do affect a country’s ability to attract or deter investments, we cannot conclude a significant effect in our results. Furthermore, the study concludes that certain products of institutional qualities (democracy, corruption) can lead to mixed effects on the net inflows of FDI, but that an important determinant is the market-size of the country.

We explore some empirical properties of Austria's "Investment Development Path" (IDP) on the macro level as well as on the structural and the bilateral level. Three dimensions are analyzed, namely the growth, the stability, and the sign of the Net Outward Investment Position (NOIP). While the NOIP on the macro level has been negative throughout the last two decades, there is considerable variation on the industry and the bilateral level. Given the small domestic market size, the NOIP of Austria does not reflect the high level of development in terms of GDP. Several explanations for the below-average NOIP of Austria are provided. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series