Foreign Direct Investment, Growth, and Publication Bias in Latin America and the Caribbean

Iorngurum, Tersoo (2022): Foreign Direct Investment, Growth, and Publication Bias in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Abstract

Economic literature contains conflicting empirical results and explanations concerning the growth effect of foreign direct investment (FDI). In this study, several numerical estimates of FDI’s growth effect in Latin America and the Caribbean were drawn from 33 empirical studies and analysed with meta-analytic techniques. The results show that the true growth effect of FDI is near zero and statistically insignificant at all conventional levels. Tests of publication bias performed on the estimates reveal evidence of publication bias in peer-reviewed journal publications authored by PhD holders, but reveal no evidence of publication bias in the empirical literature as a whole. Furthermore, multivariate meta-regression analysis and Bayesian model averaging both show that publication bias is dependent on type of publication outlet and sample size. More precisely, publishing in peer-reviewed journals leads to publication bias, while sample size enlargement reduces publication bias.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth, Publication Bias, Meta-Analysis, Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C8 - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology ; Computer Programs > C83 - Survey Methods ; Sampling Methods; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F21 - International Investment ; Long-Term Capital Movements; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O47 - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth ; Aggregate Productivity ; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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