Determinants and effects of direct foreign investment in Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, and Venezuela

Harrison, Ann (1995): Determinants and effects of direct foreign investment in Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, and Venezuela. Published in: Industrial evoluation in developing countries (1996): pp. 163-183.

Abstract

Despite the voluminous literature on direct foreign investment in the 1960s and 1970s, the empirical evidence on spillovers from foreign sources of equity investment remains slim. This chapter draws on new data sources for Cote d'lvoire, Morocco, and Venezuela to explore two related questions. To what extent do joint ventures or wholly owned for¬eign subsidiaries exhibit higher levels of productivity than their domestic counterparts? Does technology spill over from these foreign entrants to domestically owned firms?

The research reported here is the first to exploit panel data at the level of individual firms, which allows a more detailed comparison of foreign and domestic firms than was previously possible. The behavior of foreign and domestic firms can be compared by sector, controlling for firm-specific attributes such as size. The panel nature of the data also allows the analysis to go beyond the cross-sectional studies of the past, which compared partial measures of productivity (such as labor productivity) across sectors. The availability of data for several countries permits exploration of the extent to which the impact of foreign investment is a general or a country-specific phenomenon.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: direct foreign investment; cote d'Ivoire; morocco, Venezuela
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General > J08 - Labor Economics Policies; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F23 - Multinational Firms ; International Business

References

“Are There Positive Spillovers from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Panel Data for Morocco”, Mona Haddad and Ann Harrison, Journal of Development Economics, October 1993, volume 42, pages 51-74.

“Productivity, Imperfect Competition, and Trade Reform: Theory and Evidence,” Ann Harrison, Journal of International Economics, February 1994, Volume 36, Issues 1-2, pages 53-73.

“Multinationals in Economic Development: The Benefits of FDI,” Ann Harrison, Columbia Journal of World Business (now the Journal of World Business), Winter 1994.

“Sharing the Costs: the Impact of Trade Reform on Capital and Labor in Morocco,” Janet Currie and Ann Harrison, Journal of Labor Economics, 1997, Vol 15, No. 3.

“Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela,” Brian Aitken and Ann Harrison, June 1999, American Economic Review, 89:3, pages 605-618.

“Moving to Greener Pastures? Multinationals and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis," Gunnar Eskeland and Ann Harrison, February 2003, Journal of Development Economics, Volume 70, Issue 1, pages 1-23.