Foreign Direct Investment: Analysis of Aggregate Flows - Hardcover

Razin, Assaf; Sadka, Efraim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691127069 ISBN 13: 9780691127064

Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2007

Inhaltsangabe

The 1990s saw global flows of foreign direct investment increase some sevenfold, spurring economists to explore FDI from a micro- or trade-based perspective. Foreign Direct Investment is one of the first books to analyze the macroeconomics of FDI, treating FDI as a unique form of international capital flow between specific pairs of countries.


By examining the determinants of the aggregate flows of FDI at the bilateral, source-host-country level, Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka present the first systematic global analysis of the singular features of FDI flows. Drawing on a wealth of fresh data, they provide new theoretical models and empirical techniques that illuminate the vital country-pair characteristics that drive these flows. Uniquely, Foreign Direct Investment examines FDI between developed and developing countries, and not just between developed countries. Among many other insights, the book shows that tax competition vis-à-vis FDI need not lead to a "race to the bottom." Foreign Direct Investment is an essential resource for graduate students, academics, and policy professionals.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka are the authors of Labor, Capital, and Finance. Razin is the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair for the Study of Global Competitive Markets at Tel Aviv University, the Friedman Professor of International Economics at Cornell University, and a research fellow at the NBER, CEPR, and CESifo. Sadka is the Henry Kaufman Professor of International Capital Markets at Tel Aviv University and a research fellow at CESifo and IZA.

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"Razin and Sadka provide a modern treatment of aggregate foreign direct investment flows and their relationship to portfolio investment and taxation. A unique perspective of this treatise is the emphasis on the role of threshold effects that emerge from fixed costs of FDI. Importantly, there is theory and evidence, which combine into an integrated view of the subject. Scholars and students of international economics will greatly benefit from reading this book."--Elhanan Helpman, Harvard University

"Foreign direct investment flows have become a major feature of the world economy. This book provides a fascinating, novel approach to explaining the determinants of these cross-border investment flows. Razin and Sadka skillfully intertwine theory and empirics to shed new light on the role of private information and fixed costs of operation in shaping foreign direct investment flows. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in international economics."--Pol Antràs, Harvard University

"This book is an important and timely contribution to our understanding of foreign direct investment. The book contains a great deal of useful material. It begins by presenting a suite of new models for thinking about FDI. This is followed by a review of a range of new data on FDI, combined with empirical techniques that help clarify patterns present in FDI in developing countries. Finally, the book studies one policy issue in depth: the tendency of tax competition among countries to lead to inefficiently low taxes. Interestingly, the book provides a new spin on this argument, showing that host-country taxes need not become too low."--Mark Wright, Stanford University

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"Razin and Sadka provide a modern treatment of aggregate foreign direct investment flows and their relationship to portfolio investment and taxation. A unique perspective of this treatise is the emphasis on the role of threshold effects that emerge from fixed costs of FDI. Importantly, there is theory and evidence, which combine into an integrated view of the subject. Scholars and students of international economics will greatly benefit from reading this book."--Elhanan Helpman, Harvard University

"Foreign direct investment flows have become a major feature of the world economy. This book provides a fascinating, novel approach to explaining the determinants of these cross-border investment flows. Razin and Sadka skillfully intertwine theory and empirics to shed new light on the role of private information and fixed costs of operation in shaping foreign direct investment flows. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in international economics."--Pol Antràs, Harvard University

"This book is an important and timely contribution to our understanding of foreign direct investment. The book contains a great deal of useful material. It begins by presenting a suite of new models for thinking about FDI. This is followed by a review of a range of new data on FDI, combined with empirical techniques that help clarify patterns present in FDI in developing countries. Finally, the book studies one policy issue in depth: the tendency of tax competition among countries to lead to inefficiently low taxes. Interestingly, the book provides a new spin on this argument, showing that host-country taxes need not become too low."--Mark Wright, Stanford University

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Foreign Direct Investment

Analysis of Aggregate FlowsBy Assaf Razin Efraim Sadka

Princeton University Press

Copyright © 2008 Princeton University
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-12706-4

Chapter One

Overview

Economists tend to favor the free flow of capital across national borders, because it allows capital to seek out the highest rate of return. Unrestricted capital flows may also offer several advantages, as noted by Feldstein (2000). First, international flows reduce the risk faced by owners of capital by allowing them to diversify their lending and investment. Second, the global integration of capital markets can contribute to the spread of best practices in corporate governance, accounting standards, and legal traditions. Third, the global mobility of capital limits the ability of governments to pursue bad policies.

1.1 Channels of International Capital Flows

Capital can flow across countries in a variety of ways. One can distinguish among three major ones: foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign portfolio investment (FPI), and loans. FDI is defined as an investment involving a long-term relationship and reflecting a lasting interest and control of a resident entity in the source country (foreign direct investor or parent firm) in the host country.

In national and international accounting standards, FDI is defined as involving an equity stake of 10% or more. In general, FDI itself has three components: equity capital, intra-firm loans, and reinvestment of retained earnings. Because different countries have different recording practices relating to these three components, some measurement problems arise. Not all countries follow the 10% mark for the definition of FDI. Most countries do indeed report long-term intra-firm loans, but not all countries report short-term loans. Most countries report reinvestment of retained earning only with a considerable lag. One implication of these measurement problems is that recorded FDI inflows do not contemporaneously match FDI outflows.

Foreign portfolio investment is different from FDI in that it lacks the element of lasting interest and control. Foreign portfolio investment also includes lending in the form of tradable bonds. The third type of foreign investment, loans, is primarily bank loans.

Among these types of foreign investment flows, FDI stands out. The world flows of FDI rose about sevenfold in current U.S. dollars over the 1990s (see Figure 1.1, A and B). Furthermore, the vast majority of these flows are among OECD countries. FDI flows from OECD to non-OECD countries are also significant (see Table 1.1). Maurice Obtfeld and Alan M. Taylor (2002) make a succinct observation: "A century ago, world income and productivity levels were far less divergent than they are today, so it is all the more remarkable that so much capital was directed to countries at or below the 20 percent and 40 percent income levels (relative to the United States). Today, a much larger fraction of the world's output and population is located in such low-productivity regions, but a smaller share of global foreign investment reaches them."

The UN (2005) annual report on world investment documents how countries are becoming more receptive to FDI. Table 1.2, which refers to the years 1991-2004, shows that the vast majority of changes in laws and regulations pertaining to investment were more favorable to FDI. An exception is developing countries which introduced some laws and regulations intended to protect some natural resources (especially in the energy field) against "foreign intruders." The report also indicates that countries are cooperating with each other in designing pro-FDI bilateral policies: "The number of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and double taxation treaties (DTTs) reached 2,392 and 2,559 respectively, in 2004, with developing countries concluding more such treaties with other developing countries."

This book focuses on the unique features of FDI, vis--vis other types of capital flows.

1.2 Micro-Level Studies

Studies of FDI can essentially be divided into two main categories: micro-level (industrial organization and international trade) studies and macro-finance studies. Initially, the literature that explained FDI in microeconomic terms focused on market imperfections and on the desire of multinational enterprises to expand their market power; see, for instance, Caves (1971). Subsequent literature centered more on firm-specific advantages, owing to product superiority or cost advantages, stemming from economies of scale, multiplant economies, advanced technologies, or superior marketing and distribution; see, for instance, Helpman (1984).

A multinational may find it cheaper to expand directly in a foreign country, rather than through trade, in cases where its advantages stem from internal, indivisible assets associated with knowledge and technology. The latter form of FDI is referred to as horizontal FDI. Note, therefore, that horizontal FDI is a substitute for exports. Brainard (1997) employs a differentiated product framework to provide an empirical support for this hypothesis. Helpman, Melitz, and Yeaple (2004) incorporate intraindustry heterogeneity to conclude, among other things, that FDI plays a lesser role in substituting for exports in industries with large productivity dispersion.

However, horizontal FDI is not the only form of FDI. Multinational corporations account for a very significant fraction of world trade flows, with trade in intermediate inputs between divisions of the same firm constituting an important portion of these flows; see, for instance, Hanson, Mataloni, and Slaughter (2001). This is referred to as vertical FDI. One of the key determinants of vertical FDI is the abundance of human capital; see Antras (2004) for a comprehensive theoretical and empirical treatise on the various forms of FDI.

In a recent survey, Helpman (2006) observes that between 1990 and 2001 sales by foreign affiliates of multinational corporations expanded much faster 6 than exports of goods and nonfactor services. He also points out that the fast expansion of trade in services has been accompanied by fast-growing trade in inputs. Furthermore: "the growth of input trade has taken place both within and across the boundaries of the firm, i.e., as intra-firm and arm's-length trade." In light of these developments, Helpman argues that "the traditional classification of FDI into vertical and horizontal forms has become less meaningful in practice." Indeed, his survey includes some new applications of the theory of the organization of the firm to analyze the patterns of exports, FDI, outsourcing, and so forth.

1.3 Macro-Finance Studies

FDI combines not only aspects of international trade in goods and services but also aspects of international financial flows. The macro-finance literature attempts to analyze the composition of aggregate international flows into FDI, FPI, and bank loans, as well as the breakdown of the aggregate flow of FDI according to either modes of entry or modes of finance. As with respect to the modes of entry, FDI can be made either at the greenfield stage or in the form of purchasing ongoing firms (Mergers and Acquisitions-M&A). UN (2005) observes that "the choice of mode is influenced by industry-specific factors. For example, greenfield investment is more likely to be used as a mode of entry in industries in which technological skills and production technology are key. The choice may also be influenced by institutional, cultural, and transaction cost factors, in particular, the attitude toward...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Princeton University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2007
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0691127069
• ISBN 13: 9780691127064
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 144
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Princeton University Press; https://press.princeton.edu/books; ; 7th Floor, New South Building; PRINCETON; NJ; 8544; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar