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

This book addresses two of the most important trends in political economy during the last two decades - globalization and decentralization - in the context of the world's most rapidly growing economic power, China. The intent is to provide a better understanding of how local political and economic institutions shape the ability of Chinese state-owned firms to utilize foreign direct investment (FDI) to remake themselves in the transition from inefficient and technologically backward firms into powerful national champions. In a global economy, the author argues, local governments are increasingly the agents of industrial transformation at the level of the firm. Local institutions are durable over time, and they have important economic consequences. Through an analysis of five Chinese regions, the treatment seeks to specify the opportunities and constraints that alternative institutional structures create, how they change over time, and ultimately, how they prepare Chinese firms for the challenge of global competition.

Pinto develops a partisan theory of foreign direct investment (FDI) arguing that left-wing governments choose policies that allow easier entry by foreign investors more than right-wing governments, and that foreign investors prefer to invest in countries governed by the left. To reach this determination, the book derives the conditions under which investment flows should be expected to affect the relative demand for the services supplied by economic actors in host countries. Based on these expected distributive consequences, a political economy model of the regulation of FDI and changes in investment performance within countries and over time is developed. The theory is tested using both cross-national statistical analysis and two case studies exploring the development of the foreign investment regimes and their performance over the past century in Argentina and South Korea.

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 (FDI) studies have evolved as one of the mainstreams in business strategy. This book presents a comprehensive perspective on the motivations behind the studies, the effects of FDI, and how it can be utilized and extended to other areas of studies. Written with a global perspective, this book not only touches upon business strategies but also covers government policies toward promoting and attracting FDI for industrial and economic development. The author, with his vast experience in consulting and research projects for multinational companies, international organizations and governments, examines real world business practices of Eastern firms and how they relate to their Western counterparts, thus making this book a valuable and practical reference not only for students, but for practitioners, too."--

Two of the distinguishing features of the law on foreign direct investment (FDI) are its complexity and its creativity. The law on FDI embraces the domestic rules and regulations dealing with foreign controlled businesses as well as the numerous bilateral and multilateral legal instruments. It is influenced by awards of international arbitration tribunals as well as numerous other sources. Consequently, it is always changing. The various actors involved, including transnational corporations, local companies, investment promotion agencies, and multilateral donors, as well as lawyers advising foreign investors or their local counterparts and financial intermediaries, each follow their own interests. By its nature, FDI involves the interaction, and sometimes the clash, between different legal concepts of the participants and regulators. Counsels to local governments and domestic partners in a joint venture with foreign companies may not always be accustomed to legal documentation in an Anglo-American or continental European style. As a result, dealing with FDI requires an ongoing learning process for all who wish to understand and successfully manage foreign investment transactions. All this elucidates the need for a multi-author book which covers various areas of the law on FDI from different perspectives. The authors of this book are all concerned with FDI as either academics or practicioners and come from a variety of legal, academic and geographical backgrounds. The book consists of three parts: first, a general introduction on FDI by Dr. Escher; next, an analysis on the emerging international law on FDI and related areas; and finally, an overview of FDI law in a variety of countries in Asia, Africa, Latin-America, and Europe.

Companies engaged in FDI or financial services will appreciate the detailed analysis of issues raised by this new EU policy instrument. This book is supposed to improve the practitioners? understanding of the EU regulatory layer now coming on top of FDI screening at the Member State level. Practitioners active in competition law, particularly mergers and acquisitions, will welcome this clear commentary and analysis of a crucial component of EU policy in the related areas of trade and investment, and policymakers will be encouraged to consider whether further regulatory changes are called for.