Tesi sul tema "Investments, foreign"

Foreign direct investments are easier today then in the past owing to lower communication costs, improved and new information technology systems. In 1990, Brazil opened up for the global econ-omy and is today one of the tenth largest economies in the world, furthermore one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investments. Many different aspects need to be taken into consideration when investing in a foreign country such as motives, risks, entry modes and financing alternatives.

The purpose with this thesis is to describe Swedish corporations’ es-tablishment in Brazil, during 1990-2005. The authors aim to illus-trate the motives behind the establishment, choice of entry mode, the perceived risks of operating in Brazil and if these risks affect the financing decisions.

To answer the purpose of this thesis both quantitative- and qualitative methods have been applied. A quantitative method has been employed when performing the preliminary study, by sending a standardized questionnaire by email to the entire population to as-semble those corporations who established in Brazil during 1990-2005. When designing the interview questionnaire and accomplishing the telephone interviews a combination of qualitative- and quantitative methods have been utilized.

The most common motives to invest in Brazil are expanding markets and following already existing customers. When deciding upon how to enter the market, the majority of the respondents choose to start up from the ground, a Greenfield investment. The risks which had the largest impact of the corporation during the establishment were the political risk and protectionism. Intercompany financing has been the main financing alternative, though it is very expensive to borrow in Brazil. The risks affecting the financing decisions are the exchange rate, inflation and the interest rate.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This thesis shall represent the arbitration regime under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in connection with protection mechanism of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). It shall analyse the achievements of ICSID and BITs and their influence of foreign direct investments, investors and the host country. Finally, this thesis will try to assess the achievements in this area and discuss advantages or disadvantages for the involved parties. Individuals and corporations are interested in foreign direct investments (FDI) to exploit new markets, to realize or to sell business ideas, and to raise their market value or personal wealth. Under an economical point of view, money or investments always found its way to the most efficient places on earth which were able to be reached in any century to produce a better or the same product or service for a better price. The raising of profit margins was the driving force to explore new markets; also foreign governments tried to attract investors from all over the world to create new jobs and import new technology for their economies to raise the capacity to compete on an international level. In the early nineteenth century the prevalent form of foreign direct investment was that carried out through loans and government bonds. In contrast, modern foreign investment is more characterized by direct investment on the spot: the building of infrastructure, like railroads or telephone networks, and the establishment of joint-ventures in the car industry, to name but two examples. Investment abroad also means to play in a new and unknown playground. Investors have to place their money in a foreign environment under different laws, different rights and duties, and with unknown future protection of their investments. This makes foreign direct investments an uncertain game, and uncertainty did always keep investors from direct investments in a foreign and unknown country. Furthermore, not only the unknown environment is an investment obstacle, investors also were faced with problems with governments in the foreign market. First foreign governments promoted foreign direct investments to raise their economic power. Large infrastructure projects had an important effect on the countries where they were constructed: they were the basis for a faster growing economy. Later the same governments or new political powers changed government positions regarding foreign investment and they restricted investment related money transfers of investors out of the investment area or they initiated measures and laws to expropriate the property of investors without financial compensation. The big infrastructure investments were seen as a necessity for the welfare of the citizens and as a security of the host state. Many host countries felt that these projects should be controlled by the government and not by foreigners. The treatment of aliens by governments was, and still is, dependent on political theories and influences. A change of the investment climate, the "political risk", can be a huge uncertainty for foreign direct investments. Every investor has to ensure that the investment is lucrative and that he has the possibility to reduce risks and cost in case of changes of the investment climate. In the past foreign investors had no direct way to enforce investments claims against a foreign state for its sovereign acts or for breach of customary international law. Instead, investors had to rely upon their own government taking up the claim on their behalf and try to solve the dispute by diplomatic measures. This dependence on others was inconvenient and unpredictable, and therefore dissatisfying for alien investors. The settlement of foreign investment disputes in the past was a question of political influence and economic power. Individuals or corporations had to influence their governments to take up their case on the state's behalf. This was only possible for very important and influential investors. The investor's state then sent warships to threaten the offending state until reparations were paid. This "gunboat diplomacy" was exercised frequently by European powers until the early twentieth century, for example when faced with Venezuela's default on its sovereign debt in 1902, the governments of Great Britain, Germany and Italy sent warships to the Venezuelan coast to demand reparation for the losses incurred by their nationals. The need for security and predictability for foreign investments was one of the main reasons to establish diplomatic relations with other states. Various ideas from the point of view of money receiving and money spending states were discussed and realized, from the Calvo doctrine - where contracts between the host state and foreign investors included an agreement in which the latter agreed to confine himself to the available local remedies without relying on diplomatic interference of his own state - to the principle of diplomatic protection - where a state espouses the claim of its nationals as a claim on its own behalf. With the Second International Peace Conference of The Hague in 1907, states agreed to a framework for the conclusion of bilateral arbitration treaties which were the basis for independent arbitration tribunals in case of a dispute between two states arising out of particular interests of its national investors. The right of diplomatic protection as mentioned above was still inadequate to promote foreign investments: the Latin American countries relied upon the Calvo Doctrine, which denied the possibility of interference under diplomatic protection principle. Also, the breach of investment treaties by states was still not sanctioned by public international law. Only expropriation was recognised quite early as a possibility for diplomatic protection claims. Furthermore diplomatic protection was only accessible for nationals of the claiming state. Questions arose what happens if transnational corporations claim protection? The obstacle for investors to convince their government to claim diplomatic protection for its nationals was very high and unpredictable to foresee. Also a claim against the home state to exercise diplomatic protection does not exist. Today, in our small world, where businesses are moved from the United States to India, industrial production is transferred from Europe to China, or new infrastructure projects are started in Central Africa, one cannot imagine international business without FDI. Foreign direct investments need security, investors need security. Security is necessary to promote foreign investment which is recognized as one of the driving forces in supporting development in developing and least developed countries. Investors want to know their rights regarding their investments and they want to enforce their rights directly in a fast and cost-effective way. The need for protection is the reason for various measures introduced by governments to secure investments. In the following the system of foreign dispute settlement under the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in combination with Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) shall be highlighted. The ICSID is the result of the investor insecurity mentioned above. ICSID shall also support FDI in the developing countries. The focus shall be on the increased interest for BITs and the therefore increased interest in ICSID arbitrations. Why do states use BITs? Did the establishment of a neutral venue for investment dispute settlement reach its goal to depoliticise disputes? Is it used by investors, and what is protected? Do BITs play an important role in the system of dispute settlement and why? And how do they work together with the ISCID system?

This thesis examines the levels of restrictive foreign investment regulatory policies of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore from 1970 to 1980. The study seeks to explain why their policies varied. It presents a descriptive comparison of each country's policies restricting foreign investment. This discussion deals with general quantitative limits on foreign ownership, restrictions on certain economic sectors, restrictions on the operations of foreign-owned corporations, and the use of government-owned corporations as instruments of control over foreign investment. Based on the comparison, the study concludes that Malaysia placed greater restrictions on foreign investment than Thailand or Singapore. It is argued that differences in the domestic political and economic settings of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore explain Malaysia's greater restrictiveness. The thesis examines each state's past experience with a colonial power, economic strategies of the political elites, domestic political pressures, and the presence of ethnic minorities. It also looks at such contributing factors as the size of the natural resource sector, the prevalence of industries with old technology, and the level of foreign ownership of industry in each country. This thesis concludes that Malaysia placed more restrictions than Thailand or Singapore because it had a very different domestic setting: an economically-dominant ethnic minority, domestic pressure for restrictions, and a nationalistic and interventionist economic strategy. Taken together, these differences explain Malaysia's greater restrictions on foreign investment. Of the explanatory variables, ethnic factors are the most important.
Arts, Faculty of
Political Science, Department of
Graduate

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’explorer l’impact de l’incertitude sur les IDE. Elle s’intéresse plus particulièrement à l’industrie agroalimentaire en tenant compte des spécificités de la chaîne de valeur agricole. Les flux et les stocks d’IDE sont généralement très instables et il est admis que l’incertitude est le principal facteur causant les baisses fréquentes de l’IDE au niveau mondial. Nous voulons savoir si et dans quelle mesure l’incertitude causée par la volatilité de la demande et de l’offre peut affecter les IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire. À cette fin, nous utilisons des modèles théoriques et empiriques. Dans le premier chapitre, nous étudions empiriquement la mesure dans laquelle l’incertitude provenant des variabilités de la demande du marché, de la production et du commerce peut expliquer la probabilité d’avoir des IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire. On s’attend à ce que les IDE soient retardés lorsque l’incertitude augmente car les entreprises qui font ces investissements mobilisent des ressources conséquentes pour réaliser leurs IDE. Nous utilisons un modèle d’analyse de survie et des données d’IDE bilateraux. Cela nous permet de constater que la volatilité réduit la probabilité d’observer l’IDE entre les pays. Ce comportement est observé dans l’industrie agroalimentaire mais aussi dans d’autres industries. Cependant, toutes les sources de variabilité ne jouent pas nécessairement un rôle. Par exemple, les IDE des entreprises multinationales européennes et américaines dans l’industrie alimentaire sont négativement affectés par la volatilité des importations du pays de destination. Les IDE de ces pays dans l’industrie des produits chimiques sont négativement affectés par la volatilité de la production. La volatilité des exportations diminue l’attrait de capitaux étrangers dans le secteur des équipements de transport des pays d’accueil. Dans le second chapitre, nous construisons un modèle théorique pour expliquer le compromis entre les exportations et les IDE compte tenu de l’incertitude quant à la taille de la demande. Nous observons que l’incertitude de la demande induit un comportement d’attente des entreprises multinationales qui explique pourquoi les IDE peuvent être retardés dans les marchés où l’incertitude est grande. L’IDE devient une option réelle dans laquelle l’attente permet de réduire l’incertitude. Nous adoptons la littérature sur l’analyse des options réelles pour construire notre cadre théorique. En plus de l’incertitude de la demande, nous examinons également des facteurs comme les coûts au commerce et l’environnement de la concurrence. Nous observons qu’une forte concurrence, une faible différenciation des produits et une diminution des barrières commerciales amplifient le comportement d’attente des multinationales. Par exemple, la réduction des coûts au commerce peut nuire aux IDE, car elle augmente leur sensibilité à l’incertitude et l’attente devient une option plus intéressante. Dans le dernier chapitre, nous analysons les IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire en tenant compte des différences de volatilité dans l’offre agricole entre les pays. Cette analyse nous permet d’étudier la question de l’incertitude dans l’industrie agroalimentaire du point de vue de la chaîne d’approvisionnement, car nous considérons l’incertitude dans le secteur en amont. En fait, les variations des prix agricoles ou des quantités livrées aux transformateurs par les agriculteurs sont souvent importantes et imprévisibles. Par conséquent, ces transformateurs de l’industrie agroalimentaire sont exposées à une incertitude croissante et persistante. Notre cadre théorique tient compte du pouvoir de marché des entreprises de transformation et des IDE de type horizontaux et verticaux. Nous obtenons que même les entreprises neutres au risque sont préoccupées par la variabilité de l’offre. En effet, dans le contexte de l’industrie alimentaire, la relation entre le profit et le choc d’offre est concave étant donné la concurrence imparfaite et le moment de la résolution de l’incertitude. Notre approche empirique confirme que les entreprises multinationales réalisent leurs décisions en matière d’IDE en considérant les disparités de variabilité de l’offre entre les pays parce que la volatilité du secteur agricole dissuade les IDE. Nous testons cette prédiction à l’aide de données bilatérales de stocks d’IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire.
L’objectif de cette thèse est d’explorer l’impact de l’incertitude sur les IDE. Elle s’intéresse plus particulièrement à l’industrie agroalimentaire en tenant compte des spécificités de la chaîne de valeur agricole. Les flux et les stocks d’IDE sont généralement très instables et il est admis que l’incertitude est le principal facteur causant les baisses fréquentes de l’IDE au niveau mondial. Nous voulons savoir si et dans quelle mesure l’incertitude causée par la volatilité de la demande et de l’offre peut affecter les IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire. À cette fin, nous utilisons des modèles théoriques et empiriques. Dans le premier chapitre, nous étudions empiriquement la mesure dans laquelle l’incertitude provenant des variabilités de la demande du marché, de la production et du commerce peut expliquer la probabilité d’avoir des IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire. On s’attend à ce que les IDE soient retardés lorsque l’incertitude augmente car les entreprises qui font ces investissements mobilisent des ressources conséquentes pour réaliser leurs IDE. Nous utilisons un modèle d’analyse de survie et des données d’IDE bilateraux. Cela nous permet de constater que la volatilité réduit la probabilité d’observer l’IDE entre les pays. Ce comportement est observé dans l’industrie agroalimentaire mais aussi dans d’autres industries. Cependant, toutes les sources de variabilité ne jouent pas nécessairement un rôle. Par exemple, les IDE des entreprises multinationales européennes et américaines dans l’industrie alimentaire sont négativement affectés par la volatilité des importations du pays de destination. Les IDE de ces pays dans l’industrie des produits chimiques sont négativement affectés par la volatilité de la production. La volatilité des exportations diminue l’attrait de capitaux étrangers dans le secteur des équipements de transport des pays d’accueil. Dans le second chapitre, nous construisons un modèle théorique pour expliquer le compromis entre les exportations et les IDE compte tenu de l’incertitude quant à la taille de la demande. Nous observons que l’incertitude de la demande induit un comportement d’attente des entreprises multinationales qui explique pourquoi les IDE peuvent être retardés dans les marchés où l’incertitude est grande. L’IDE devient une option réelle dans laquelle l’attente permet de réduire l’incertitude. Nous adoptons la littérature sur l’analyse des options réelles pour construire notre cadre théorique. En plus de l’incertitude de la demande, nous examinons également des facteurs comme les coûts au commerce et l’environnement de la concurrence. Nous observons qu’une forte concurrence, une faible différenciation des produits et une diminution des barrières commerciales amplifient le comportement d’attente des multinationales. Par exemple, la réduction des coûts au commerce peut nuire aux IDE, car elle augmente leur sensibilité à l’incertitude et l’attente devient une option plus intéressante. Dans le dernier chapitre, nous analysons les IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire en tenant compte des différences de volatilité dans l’offre agricole entre les pays. Cette analyse nous permet d’étudier la question de l’incertitude dans l’industrie agroalimentaire du point de vue de la chaîne d’approvisionnement, car nous considérons l’incertitude dans le secteur en amont. En fait, les variations des prix agricoles ou des quantités livrées aux transformateurs par les agriculteurs sont souvent importantes et imprévisibles. Par conséquent, ces transformateurs de l’industrie agroalimentaire sont exposées à une incertitude croissante et persistante. Notre cadre théorique tient compte du pouvoir de marché des entreprises de transformation et des IDE de type horizontaux et verticaux. Nous obtenons que même les entreprises neutres au risque sont préoccupées par la variabilité de l’offre. En effet, dans le contexte de l’industrie alimentaire, la relation entre le profit et le choc d’offre est concave étant donné la concurrence imparfaite et le moment de la résolution de l’incertitude. Notre approche empirique confirme que les entreprises multinationales réalisent leurs décisions en matière d’IDE en considérant les disparités de variabilité de l’offre entre les pays parce que la volatilité du secteur agricole dissuade les IDE. Nous testons cette prédiction à l’aide de données bilatérales de stocks d’IDE dans l’industrie agroalimentaire.
The three essays of this thesis explore the impact of uncertainty on FDI in the food industry by taking into account the specificities of the food value chain. FDI flows and stocks are very unstable and evidence suggests that uncertainty is the main factor causing frequent declines in FDI globally. We want to know whether and to what extent the uncertainty caused by the volatility of demand and supply affects FDI in the food processing industry by using theoretical and empirical models. The first essay empirically studies whether uncertainty related to variables such as volatile market demand, production variability and trade volatility affects the hazard rate of FDI in the food industry. As FDI is irreversible investment, it is likely to be delayed when uncertainty increases. Using a survival analysis model and bilateral FDI data, we find that volatility reduces the hazard rate of FDI. This behavior is observed in the food industry but also in other industries. However, not all sources of variability are relevant. For example, FDI by European and US multinational companies in the food industry is negatively affected by the import volatility of the country of destination. FDI of these countries in the chemical industry is negatively affected by the volatility of production. Export volatility plays a role in attracting foreign capitals in the transport equipment sector of host countries. The second essay provides a theoretical model to explain the choice between export and FDI given the uncertainty about the size of demand. The fact that FDI is delayed when uncertainty increases is explained by the wait-and-see behavior of multinational companies when investing in very uncertain foreign markets. FDI decisions can be considered as real options in which the decision to invest can be postponed to reduce uncertainty. We build a model that relies on the literature of real options. In addition to the uncertainty of demand, we also examine factors such as trade costs and the competitive environment. We find that intense competition, low product differentiation and reduction of trade barriers amplify the wait-and-see behavior of multinational firms. For example, trade liberalization can be harmful for FDI, as it increases the sensitivity of FDI to uncertainty and waiting becomes a more valuable option. In the last essay, we analyze FDI in the food processing industry, given the differences in the volatility of agricultural supply between countries. This analysis allow us to examine the issue of uncertainty in the food processing industry from a supply chain perspective, as we consider uncertainty in the upstream sector. In fact, variations of farm prices or of quantity delivered to processors by farmers are problematic as they are large and unpredictable. Consequently, food processing firms, as they use massively primary agricultural commodities as ingredients, are exposed to an increasing and persistent uncertainty. Our theoretical framework takes into account the market power of processors and horizontal and vertical FDI are discussed. We find that even risk-neutral companies are concerned by the variance of supply. Indeed, in the context of the food industry, the relationship between profit and supply shock is concave given imperfect competition and the timing of the resolution of uncertainty. Our empirical approach (a gravity model) confirms that multinational firms achieve their FDI decisions by considering the difference of supply shocks between countries as the volatility of the agricultural sector deters FDI.We test this prediction using bilateral FDI stocks data in the food processing industry.
The three essays of this thesis explore the impact of uncertainty on FDI in the food industry by taking into account the specificities of the food value chain. FDI flows and stocks are very unstable and evidence suggests that uncertainty is the main factor causing frequent declines in FDI globally. We want to know whether and to what extent the uncertainty caused by the volatility of demand and supply affects FDI in the food processing industry by using theoretical and empirical models. The first essay empirically studies whether uncertainty related to variables such as volatile market demand, production variability and trade volatility affects the hazard rate of FDI in the food industry. As FDI is irreversible investment, it is likely to be delayed when uncertainty increases. Using a survival analysis model and bilateral FDI data, we find that volatility reduces the hazard rate of FDI. This behavior is observed in the food industry but also in other industries. However, not all sources of variability are relevant. For example, FDI by European and US multinational companies in the food industry is negatively affected by the import volatility of the country of destination. FDI of these countries in the chemical industry is negatively affected by the volatility of production. Export volatility plays a role in attracting foreign capitals in the transport equipment sector of host countries. The second essay provides a theoretical model to explain the choice between export and FDI given the uncertainty about the size of demand. The fact that FDI is delayed when uncertainty increases is explained by the wait-and-see behavior of multinational companies when investing in very uncertain foreign markets. FDI decisions can be considered as real options in which the decision to invest can be postponed to reduce uncertainty. We build a model that relies on the literature of real options. In addition to the uncertainty of demand, we also examine factors such as trade costs and the competitive environment. We find that intense competition, low product differentiation and reduction of trade barriers amplify the wait-and-see behavior of multinational firms. For example, trade liberalization can be harmful for FDI, as it increases the sensitivity of FDI to uncertainty and waiting becomes a more valuable option. In the last essay, we analyze FDI in the food processing industry, given the differences in the volatility of agricultural supply between countries. This analysis allow us to examine the issue of uncertainty in the food processing industry from a supply chain perspective, as we consider uncertainty in the upstream sector. In fact, variations of farm prices or of quantity delivered to processors by farmers are problematic as they are large and unpredictable. Consequently, food processing firms, as they use massively primary agricultural commodities as ingredients, are exposed to an increasing and persistent uncertainty. Our theoretical framework takes into account the market power of processors and horizontal and vertical FDI are discussed. We find that even risk-neutral companies are concerned by the variance of supply. Indeed, in the context of the food industry, the relationship between profit and supply shock is concave given imperfect competition and the timing of the resolution of uncertainty. Our empirical approach (a gravity model) confirms that multinational firms achieve their FDI decisions by considering the difference of supply shocks between countries as the volatility of the agricultural sector deters FDI.We test this prediction using bilateral FDI stocks data in the food processing industry.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-88). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

The project examines the relationship between trade interdependency and correlation of market returns between the United States and the four emerging economies of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The author analyzed statistical data for trade interdependency and market return to determine if there is a pattern that would provide the basis for increasing the return of a security portfolio without increasing the risk to the investor. The project analysis relied on mathematical formulas to measure the trade relationships between the selected countries and to calculate the measure of return and measure of risk of investing in each emergent market.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008.
Vita: p. 159. Thesis director: Carlos Ramírez. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed July 3, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-158). Also issued in print.

This thesis includes two chapters investigating issues related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In the first chapter, I exploit one of the most important conflicts of the 20th century between what are currently the world's second and third largest economies, the Japanese invasion of China from 1937 to 1945, to investigate the long-run impact of conflicts among countries on cross-border trade and investment. I find that Japanese multinationals are less likely to invest in Chinese regions that suffered greater civilian casualties during the Japanese invasion, and these regions also trade less with Japan. This study shows that historical animosity still matters for international trade and investment, despite the trend toward a flat world. In the second chapter, by using an extensive data set on foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in the Chinese mainland, I employ discrete choice model developed by McFadden (1974) to examine the factors determining the locational choices of FDI. Our empirical analysis shows that FIEs from source countries that are more remote institutionally from the Chinese mainland exhibit a higher degree of sensitivity toward regional economic institutions in their choice of FDI location. Interestingly, we also detect a pattern of asymmetric sensitivity toward institutional quality, i.e., FIEs coming from countries with better institutions than China are more sensitive to institutional difference and there is no effect of institutional difference on FIEs from countries with worse institutions than China. Institutional distance could also cast differentiated impacts on location choice by Joint Ventures (JVs) and Wholly-owned Enterprises (WOEs), FIEs coming from the source countries with high proportion of ethnic Chinese and FIEs coming from source countries with low proportion of ethnic Chinese in their overall populations.
published_or_final_version
Business
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy

This paper analyzes the liberalization of Venezuela's foreign direct investment (FDI) laws. In the past, Venezuela placed tough restrictions upon the entry and operation of foreign investment. These restrictions were made possible as long as petroleum prices remained high and the country had access to cheap international bank loans. The debt crisis in the 1980s, a drop in commodity prices, and a decrease in international bank loans once again made FDI an attractive source of foreign capital. In order to attract greater FDI inflows, Venezuela began to liberalize its foreign investment laws in the mid-1980s. Despite these changes, FDI inflows into Venezuela have been erratic. This paper then discusses some of the adjustments Venezuela will have to make in order to attract greater foreign investment inflows, and ends with an examination of how the country can maximize FDI's contribution to its economic development.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-108). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
Attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) is an important objective as it can stimulate the economic development of societies. German companies are among the largest investors in Portugal and contribute significantly to the country’s value creation. However, Portugal’s attractiveness as an investment location has been decreasing in recent years as new competitors have emerged in the global economy. This report analyzes FDI trends and determinants as well as Portugal’s relative strengths and weaknesses, identifies potential investment opportunities for German investors and makes practical suggestions to improve the country’s current investment promotion activities, focusing in particular on the automotive supplier industry.

The theoretical bases of investment policy formation are considered in the paper, indicators of economic development are determined. The essence of the investment policy and the policy of attracting foreign investments are also disclosed. The current state of investment activity in Ukraine in regional and sectoral context is analyzed, as well as an assessment of the dynamics of foreign direct investment. The macroeconomic indicators of investment activity are estimated. Problems and prospects of investment activity in Ukraine are investigated.

In capital-scarce low income economies, FDI is seen as a stable and important source of financing for developing economies. FDI is therefore expected to generate effects on the country's economic growth potential. However, despite the long history of FDI, it was only after 1990 that Sub-Saharan African countries experienced vast increase in FDI inflows into the region. Evidence of effectiveness of such flows has remained debateable, particularly with the dominance of cross-country studies in such enquiry. With yet no existing country study for Namibia, this research investigates the relationship between FDI and economic growth in the country and the determinants of FDI flows to Namibia. The methodologies adopted in this study are mainly based on co-integration analysis. In order to investigate the impact of FDI on economic growth we employ co-integration tests and estimate both long-run effects and short-run dynamics using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The study also extends co-integration testing by applying the asymmetric (ARDL) model to test for asymmetry. The standard co-integration tests are also appropriately used to investigate the macroeconomic determinants of FDI flows to Namibia. Appropriate econometric procedure has also been employed to examine the sector level FDI and economic growth using a dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) model and mean-group (MG) estimation, to consider for the assumptions of both a homogeneity and heterogeneity case across units. Arising from a pluralistic analytical framework involving a triangulation of econometric estimation approaches, the study finds that FDI in Namibia is significant in promoting economic growth in the country. In terms of the impact on growth, the results show a positive relationship between FDI and economic growth. They also indicate that FDI consistently exerts a positive impact on growth when we incorporate trade openness, inflation and gross fixed capital formation in the analysis. This proves that these variables are indeed important in explaining economic growth in the long-run in the country and its development. With respect to the analysis, the study extended upon the linear framework to allow for the detection of asymmetric effects both in the short and long-run, as not to limit the study to the assumption of a linear paradigm only. The results show no evidence of asymmetric pattern in the relationship between FDI and economic growth. Meaning, the responsiveness of economic growth to FDI flow variations is linear. In terms of the macroeconomic determinant of FDI in Namibia the study finds that the potential market size, interest rates, initial level of income, labour force, the provision of infrastructural facilities and inflation are important determinants of FDI into the country. Although openness is found to be positive it is insignificant in determining FDI to Namibia. This could possibly act as a deterrent and as such the institutional set up's for the export and investment promotion services need a criterion for a successful export and investment support function in order to increase FDI inflows into the country and remove such factors that could inhibit such flows. In terms of sector specific FDI and economic growth the results show a co-integrating relationship. Therefore, there is long run relationship in conformity with the study hypothesis. Accounting for causality the study finds feedback effects between FDI and economic growth both in the short and long-run. Furthermore, the study also finds that FDI to Namibia is not only resource seeking but that Namibia has seen an increase in market-seeking and efficiency seeking foreign investors. As such, differentiated efforts towards attracting different forms of FDI flows to varied sectors are crucial if the economic significance of FDI is to be improved in Namibia.

Includes bibliographical references.
Foreign investment is one of the key elements of economic development in Nigeria. Yet the process of regulating it is challenging and problematic, particularly in the northern parts of Nigeria where people prefer informal investments and tend to ignore the necessary laws governing investments. Today in Nigeria as in most African countries, there are many investors, most of them from Asia, who are very insensitive to the rule of law. They invest and carry out business in Nigeria and particularly northern Nigeria often in breach of investment laws. Nigerian investment regulatory laws were made to provide security and protection of investors’ interests, but these laws are ignored due to their technicality. There is no doubt that the regulatory environment for investment will work better and more securely when there is a system of compliance. The dissertation will focus on the theoretical and practical analysis of investment security laws in Nigeria, and not the root of investment as a concept itself which is beyond the scope of this work.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-97). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

The recent developments in the European Community evoked by the Single European Act and commonly referred to as the creation of "Fortress Europe" by the end of 1992 have been attracted considerable attention with respect to economic and political integration in the international arena. Similarly, the conclusion of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement aiming at a loose form of economic integration received significant recognition. These two agreements cover not only liberalization of trade in goods and services but moreover, include foreign direct investment. This is of particular significance since little progress has been made in its regulation on an international level in comparison to the regulation of trade in goods. Due to the fact that direct investment is primarily exercised by large multinational enterprises it has a larger political impact on the host countries than trade in goods and services. Foreign ownership of local industry creates the concern of economic dependence and of a loss of sovereign powers among host governments. Consequently, governments introduce laws and regulations aiming at the restriction of direct investment of foreign investors. However, as foreign investment augments economic growth, it is of common benefit to both investors and host countries to provide an investment climate which balances the conflict of interest between the need of legal certainty and flexibility for foreign investors arid the safeguard of economic independence and political freedom of host country governments to introduce and maintain measures deemed necessary for the benefit of their national economies. This thesis will demonstrate the most effective regime to solve this conflict through comparison of the Free Trade Agreement with the Treaty of Rome as amended by the Single European Act. These agreements have been chosen since they involve two of the triad world economic powers and thus, represent industrialized nations with the highest degree of foreign direct investment aiming at the liberalization of direct investment in their "enlarged" markets. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first and second parts will discuss the degree of liberalization of foreign investment within the Common Market including the progress made under the Single European Act of 1986 and within the free trade area established by the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement in 1989. The analysis will centre around the issues of free establishment of companies, the National Treatment Principle, capital movement, and mergers and acquisitions. The third part consists of the comparative analysis and will provide the final conclusions. The conclusions will show that the two agreements share few similarities but they are characterized by their divergent approach to direct investment liberalization. It is submitted that the more comprehensive form of liberalization is reached in the Common Market due to its broad restraint on sovereign powers of its Member States and coherently implemented elimination of restrictions on foreign investment. In contrast, the Free Trade Agreement only imposes selected obligations on the parties to liberalize direct investment. It will become clear that the Free Trade Agreement stands for a settlement of the most vexing investment issues between the parties rather than a commitment to virtually liberalize investment between the U.S. and Canada. In view of this result, recommendations are made to further liberalize investment under the Free Trade Agreement. These have to be seen, however, in the light of numerous economic and political divergencies between the Common Market and the U.S.- Canadian free trade area.
Law, Peter A. Allard School of
Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed August 7, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-220).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-120). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.