Harnessing Globalization


Book Description

How can countries in the underdeveloped world position themselves to take best advantage of the positive economic benefits of globalization? One avenue to success is the harnessing of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the “nontraditional” forms of the high-technology and service sectors, where an educated workforce is essential and the spillover effects to other sectors are potentially very beneficial. In this book, Roy Nelson compares efforts in three Latin American countries—Brazil, Chile, and Costa Rica—to attract nontraditional FDI and analyzes the reasons for their relative success or failure. As a further comparison, he uses the successes of FDI promotion in Ireland and Singapore to help refine the analysis. His study shows that two factors, in particular, are critical. First is the government’s autonomy from special interest groups, both domestic and foreign, arising from the level of political security enjoyed by government leaders. The second factor is the government’s ability to learn about prospective investors and the inducements that are most important to them—what he calls “transnational learning capacity.” Nelson draws lessons from his analysis for how governments might develop more effective strategies for attracting nontraditional FDI.




Marketing a Country


Book Description

The Foreign Investment Advisory Service, a joint facility of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank, was established to help governments of developing member countries to review and adjust the policies, institutions, and programmes that affect foreign direct investment (FDI). The ultimate purpose of FIAS is to assist member governments to attract beneficial foreign private capital, technology, and managerial expertise.




The Effectiveness of Promotion Agencies at Attracting Foreign Direct Investment


Book Description

Investment promotion agencies (IPAs) exist in almost all countries around the world, but there has been no global attempt to determine whether they have been able to significantly influence the investor's decision to locate in one country rather than another. 'The Effectiveness of Promotion Agencies at Attracting Foreign Direct Investment' is the first empirical study of the effectiveness of these agencies in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).This study finds that promotion is unambiguously associated with greater FDI flows. The effectiveness of promotion, however, depends on: • the quality of the investment climate, market size • the level of development of the country • the IPA's budget and type of activities it carries out • communication with the highest level of policymakers and support from the private sector. An important resource, 'The Effectiveness of Promotion Agencies at Attracting Foreign Direct Investment' provides many lessons about how to carry out effective investment promotion.




Foreign Direct Investment in Europe


Book Description

This book provides authoritative academic and professional insights into the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on home and host countries. It highlights global trends and patterns, and explores related policy challenges all with a special focus on the countries in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The book cuts through the existing data fog by offering a wide range of up-to-date academic findings and institutional expertise. Those findings are rounded off with lessons to be learned from historical developments (Ireland s success story), an evaluation of current trends (the role of China) and an investment promotion agency policy for attracting sustainable investment (CzechInvest). Contributions made by central bank officials, institutional representatives, members of academia and professionals provide for a uniquely complementary view on FDI developments and their implications. At a time of big changes in the FDI landscape, this book offers both empirical and econometric evidence on foreign direct investment and will be of great interest to economists and other experts in the fields of economic policy and European integration from central, commercial and investment banks, governments, international organizations, universities and research institutes. The special focus on FDI will attract those interested in, or directly involved in tackling the challenges of attracting sustainable investment or investing successfully abroad.




New Voices in Investment


Book Description

This study analyzes the characteristics, motivations, strategies, and needs of FDI from emerging markets. It draws from a survey of investors and potential investors in Brazil, India, South Korea, and South Africa.




Nation-States and the Multinational Corporation


Book Description

What makes a country attractive to foreign investors? To what extent do conditions of governance and politics matter? This book provides the most systematic exploration to date of these crucial questions at the nexus of politics and economics. Using quantitative data and interviews with investment promotion agencies, investment location consultants, political risk insurers, and decision makers at multinational corporations, Nathan Jensen arrives at a surprising conclusion: Countries may be competing for international capital, but government fiscal policy--both taxation and spending--has little impact on multinationals' investment decisions. Although government policy has a limited ability to determine patterns of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, political institutions are central to explaining why some countries are more successful in attracting international capital. First, democratic institutions lower political risks for multinational corporations. Indeed, they lead to massive amounts of foreign direct investment. Second, politically federal institutions, in contrast to fiscally federal institutions, lower political risks for multinationals and allow host countries to attract higher levels of FDI inflows. Third, the International Monetary Fund, often cited as a catalyst for promoting foreign investment, actually deters multinationals from investment in countries under IMF programs. Even after controlling for the factors that lead countries to seek IMF support, IMF agreements are associated with much lower levels of FDI inflows.




Foreign Direct Investment and Development


Book Description

Explores three related issues of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the point of view of the host country: benefits and risks; the effectiveness of international markets in providing FDI to developing countries; and the kinds of policies that allow countries to capture the benefits and avoid the risks of FDI. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




Foreign Direct Investment


Book Description

As the world continues to recover from one of the most dramatic financial crises in a generation, expanding corporations are increasingly, yet cautiously, seeking out international investment opportunities. At the heart of this fragile investment recovery lie trust and confidence. With an unprecedented number of investment promotion agencies and economic development organisations now competing for the attention and business of a more cautious and discerning investor audience, smart approaches to strategic differentiation, communication, engagement and investment services are becoming increasingly critical if these agencies and organisations are to succeed. At the same time, transparent and responsible approaches to investment, coupled with effective, compelling advocacy, are increasingly important to the success of companies’ investment projects. Daniel Nicholls’ Foreign Direct Investment offers an exploration of some of the key trends, issues and practices that are shaping the global FDI landscape. Along the way he provides insight into how economic developers and investors alike can make the most of their opportunities and mitigate reputational and communications challenges that can impede or hinder a successful investment. By presenting perspectives and priorities from both sides, Daniel Nicholls’ book bridges the ’investment gap’ by giving its readers an important insight into what matters to the other side. This book represents a smart investment for anyone involved.




Investment Aftercare Explained


Book Description

This book is the first to systematically map the last step of the foreign investor’s journey, usually referred to as post-investment, aftercare or business retention and expansion. It provides a wide range of approaches and strategies for host economies to better retain foreign investors, encourage follow-on expansions and achieve greater local economic embeddedness through a multi-stakeholder dialogue, leading to improvement of the overall business climate. Global foreign direct investments reached US$1.5 trillion in 2019, but this figure reduced by over 42% in 2020, due to the pandemic. Against this backdrop, retaining established investors became even more important. Numerous organisations all over the world are dedicated to attracting foreign companies to invest in their markets. Facilitating this effort is a dynamic and competitive industry that involves international organisations supporting capacity building, think tanks, academia and consultants. However, once foreign companies decide to invest, a critical question arises: how can host economies grow and retain these foreign investments? Many host governments could do much better, as there is very little post-investment support for these foreign companies to help them grow their businesses throughout different stages of investment, business and economic cycles. This is where aftercare comes in. In this book, the authors include diverse examples from around the world to demonstrate aftercare best practices in action. This book is an essential read for all public administration staff related to FDI attraction and promotion, practitioners in the private sector and FDI consultants. It will also be of great interest to multilateral organisations seeking to organise seminars and training courses for capacity building. The book will also benefit researchers, academics and postgraduate students of international relations, foreign trade and internationalisation. For further information, see www.aftercareexplained.com.