Towards time-consistent bilateral FDI statistics: A new dataset covering 2001-2022

Kox, Henk L.M. (2024): Towards time-consistent bilateral FDI statistics: A new dataset covering 2001-2022.

Abstract

During the 2008-2010 financial crisis, OECD and IMF changed the definition of foreign direct investment (FDI) to get better information on intra-company financing activity. The new definition gives financing activities by subsidiary affiliates of multinational companies the same status as equity-based managerial control of foreign firms. It resulted in a systematic drop of quality, informative content and consistency of FDI statistics, as is frequently signalled in the literature. We propose a new formal framework for achieving time-consistent FDI data. It emulates the FDI definition of before 2013 that was based primarily on FDI assets. We develop a formal framework for this method and provide a full proof-of-concept. We constructed a new long-term dataset, called UIFS4. The database is a balanced panel covering bilateral FDI between 232 jurisdictions over the period 2001-2022. The dataset is solely based on reported data and uses no estimation or imputation. The performance of UIFS4 is evaluated quantitatively in a comparison with the original source data.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: foreign direct investment (FDI); balance of payments; multinational companies; capital account; measurement
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C4 - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics > C46 - Specific Distributions ; Specific Statistics; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C5 - Econometric Modeling > C55 - Large Data Sets: Modeling and Analysis; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C8 - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology ; Computer Programs > C82 - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data ; Data Access; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F21 - International Investment ; Long-Term Capital Movements

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