Foreign direct investments and international agreements: a south perspective

Singh, Ajit (2001): Foreign direct investments and international agreements: a south perspective. Published in: (2001)

Abstract

This paper examines the implications of PMAI particularly from the standpoint ofdeveloping countries. It argues that (a) the case against an MAI-typeagreement is, if anything, stronger now than before; such a treaty would seriously prejudice economic development; (b) PMAI is not only incompatible with the developmental needs of poor countries, it is also likely to harm theinterests of advanced country citizens and workers; (c) a continuation of thestatus quo in this area (i.e., implementing the bilateral investment treaties) would be preferable for developing countries than the PMAI. The reasoning behind the propositions (a) to (c) above will be briefly presented in this Executive Summary and more fully explained in the main body of the paper.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; South Centre
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics

References

REFERENCES

Agosin, M.R., and R. Mayer (2000) Foreign Investment in Developing Countries: Does it Crowd in Domestic Investment? Discussion Papers, No. 146. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, February.

Amsden, A.H. (1989) Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization. Oxford University Press, New York.

Amsden, A.H. (2001) The Rise of "The Rest" Challenges to the West from Late-Industrializing Economies. Oxford University Press, New York.

Braunstein, E., and G. Epstein (1999) 'Towards a New MAI'. In Jonathan Michie & John Grieve Smith (Eds.) Global Instability and World Economic Governance. NY: Routledge Press.

Burke, J., and G. Epstein (2000) "Threat Effects and the Internationalization of Production". Paper prepared for the 'Workshop on Globalisation, Income Distribution and Structural Change', for Chennai, India, December 14-17, 2000.

Claessens, S., M. Dooley, and A. Warner (1993) World Bank Discussions Paper, No. 228, Washington DC, World Bank, Washington DC.

Dhar, B., and S. Chaturvedi (1998) Multilateral Agreement on Investment: An Analysis. Economic and Political Weekly, April 11, 837- 849.

Cosh, A.D., Hughes, A., Lee, K. and Singh, A., (1989) 'Institutional investors, mergers and the market for corporate control', International Journal of Industrial Organization,, March, 73-100.

Dunning, J. (1994) Re-evaluating the Benefits of Foreign Direct Investment. Transnational Corporations, Vol.3. No.1, pp23-52. February.

Freeman, C. (1989) New Technology and Catching Up, European Journal of Development Research, 1/1.

Ganesan, A.V. (1998) 'Strategic Options Available To Developing Countries With Regard to a Multilateral Agreement On Investment', Discussion Papers, No. 134, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, April 1998.

Golbe, D., and L. White (1988) A Time Series Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions in the US Economy. In Corporate Takeovers: Causes and Consequences, ed., Auerbach, A., University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Hoekman, B., and K. Saggi, (1999) Multilateral Disciplines for Investment- Related Policies? Presented at the Conference Global Regionalism, Institutional Affari Internazionali, Rome Feb 8- 9.

Hughes, A., (1993), 'Mergers and economic performance in the UK: a survey of the empirical evidence 1950-90', in M. Bishop and J.A. Kay (eds), European Mergers and Merger Policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hughes, A. and A. Singh (1980) Mergers, Concentration and Competition in Advanced Capitalist Economies: An International Perspective. In The Determinants and Effects of Mergers: An International Comparison, Oelgeschlager, Gunn and Hain: Cambridge, MA.

Kregal, J.A. (1996) Some Risks and Implications of Financial Globalization for National Policy Autonomy. UNCTAD Review, 1996, United Nations , Geneva.

Krugman, P. (1998) Saving Asia: the IMF cure has failed. It 's the time to get radical., Fortune Magazine, 7 September.

Lipsey, R.E. (1999) The Role of FDI in International Capital Flows, NBER Paper, No 7094, April

Milberg, W. (1999) Foreign Direct Investment and Development: Balancing Costs and Benefits. International Monetary and Financial Issues for the 1990s, United nations Conference on Trade and Development, Vol XI, 99-115.

OECD (1997) Main Features of the MAI, Symposium on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, Seoul, Korea 3- April.

Ricupero, R. (1999), in UNCTAD, 1999

Rodrik, D., and E. Kaplan, Did The Malaysian Capital Controls Work? Harvard University, February 2001.

Scherer, F., and D. Ross (1990) Industrial market Structure and Economic Performance. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Schwarz, S. (1982), "Factors Affecting the Probability of Being Acquired Evidence for the United States", Economic Journal, Vol. 92. June.

Singh, A., Takeovers: Their Relevance to the Stock Market and the Theory of the Firm, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1971.

Singh, A., ‘Takeovers, economic natural selection and the theory of the firm: evidence from the post-war UK experience’, Economic Journal, Vol. 85, No. 339, September 1975.

Singh, A. (1992) Corporate Takeovers. In The New Palgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance, edited by Eatwell, J., Milgate, M., and Newman, P., Macmillan: London and New York.

Singh, A., (1995a) ‘The causes of fast economic growth in East Asia’, UNCTAD Review, Geneva, 1995a, pp. 91–127.

Singh, A. (1995b) Institutional Requirements for full employment in advance economies.International Labour Review, Vol. 135, No. 4-5.

Singh, A., (1999a) ‘Asian capitalism and the financial crisis’, in Global Instability and World Economic Governance, Grieve-Smith, John and Michie, Jonathan (eds.), Routledge, London, 1999a.

Singh, A. (1999b), 'Global Unemployment, Long-run Economic Growth and Labour Market Rigidities: A Commentary.' A special Contribution in Perspectives on Globalization and Employment, Dibroy, B. (ed), Office of Development Studies Discussion Paper Series, UNDP, p. 50-69.

Singh, A., and Dhumale (1999), 'Competition Policy, Development and Developing Countries', Trade-Related Agenda, Development and Equity, Working Papers, No. 7. South Centre,November, 1999.

Singh, A., and A. Zammit (1999) Foreign Direct Investment: Towards Co- operative Institutional Arrangements between the North and the South? In Jonathan Michie & John Grieve Smith (Eds.) Global Instability and World Economic Governance. NY: Routledge Press.

South Centre (2000), Foreign Direct Investment, Development and the New Global Economic Order: A Policy Brief for the South, South Centre, Geneva.

UNCTAD (1998) ) World Investment Report, United Nations, New York, Geneva.

UNCTAD (1999) World Investment Report , United Nations, New York, Geneva.

UNCTAD (2000) Trade and Development Report, United Nations, New York, Geneva.

United Stated, Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, 1996. County Commercial Guidelines, Investment Climate Sections.

World Bank (2001) 'Global Development Finance: Building Coalitions for Effective Development Finance' The World Bank, Washington, D.C..