Measuring the FDI attractiveness in the EAP countries from an institutional perspective
Abstract
Countries in the European Union’s neighborhood, such as those in the Eastern Partnership (EaP), have a particular interest in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) because investment inflows can guarantee them a number of advantages needed for accession. This paper proposes a comparative analysis of the investment attractiveness of the EaP countries in the period 2005–2019 considering the institutional theory of FDI inflows. The research methodology considers a quantitative approach that uses the composite index as a tool. The results show that half of the EaP countries have a high level of investment attractiveness, while the institutional quality has an important influence on attracting FDI.
First published online 09 January 2024
Keyword : investment attractiveness, doing business, Eastern Partnership, country risk, institutional quality, democracy, economic freedom
How to Cite
Sorcaru, S. L., Nuta, F. M., Topliceanu, S. C., & Ambrozie, A. M. (2023). Measuring the FDI attractiveness in the EAP countries from an institutional perspective. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 24(6), 1019–1041. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2023.20652
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Hines, J. (1996). Altered states: taxes and the location of FDI in America. The American Economic Review, 86(5), 1076–1094.
Ishaq, M. (1997). Foreign direct investment in Ukraine since independence (CERT Discussion Papers No. 97/16). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.80289
Jayasuriya, D. (2011). Improvements in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings. Do they translate into greater foreign direct investment inflows? (Policy Research Working Paper 5787). The World Bank, Washington D.C. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-5787
Jensen, N. (2003). Democratic governance and multinational corporations: political regimes and inflows of foreign direct investment. International Organization, 57(3), 587–616. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818303573040
Kersan-Skabic, I. (2015). The importance of corporate taxation for FDI attractiveness of Southeast European Countries. Panoeconomicus, 62(1), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.2298/PAN1501105K
Kim, J., & Aguilera, R. (2016). Foreign location choice: review and extensions. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18, 133–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12064
Kim, K. (2010). Political stability and foreign direct investment. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 2(3), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v2n3p59
Lucke, N., & Eichler, S. (2016). Foreign direct investment: The role of institutional and cultural determinants. Applied Economics, 48(11), 935–956. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2015.1090551
Marselina, M., & Prasetyo, T. (2023). The effect of natural resources rent and institutional factors on investment inflow. Quality. Access to Success, 24(192), 208–213. https://doi.org/10.47750/QAS/24.192.25
Mengistu, A., & Adhikary, B. (2011). Does good governance matter for FDI inflows? Evidence from Asian economies. Asia Pacific Business Review, 17(3), 281–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381003755765
Michalet, C. (1997). Strategies of multinationals and competition for foreign direct investment: The opening of Central and Eastern Europe. The World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-4161-8
Moosa, I. (2002). Foreign direct investment: Theory, evidence and practice. Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403907493
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Nielsen, B., Asmussen, C., & Weatherall, C. (2017). The location choice of foreign direct investments: Empirical evidence and methodological challenges. Journal of World Business, 52(1), 62–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.10.006
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Pain, N., & Holland, D. (1998). The diffusion of innovations in Central and Eastern Europe: A study of the determinants and impact of foreign direct investment (NIESR Discussion Papers No 137). National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London.
Perchoc, P. (2016). The European neighborhood policy in-depth analysis (EPRS- PE 595.865). European Parliamentary Research Service.
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Shenai, V., Shcherbyna, A., Voronin, S., & Olkhovskyy, D. (2020). The determinants of FDI in six former FSU countries: A study of data 1995–2017. Journal of European Economy, 19(72), 140–181. https://doi.org/10.35774/jee2020.01.140
Socoliuc, O., & Maha, L. (2019). The economic dynamics of the Eastern Partnership countries: between development gaps and internal fragilities. In G. Rouet & G. C. Pascariu (Eds.), Resilience and the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood countries: From theoretical concepts to a normative agenda (pp. 89–135). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25606-7
Socoliuc, O., Sirghi, N., Jemma, D., & David, M. (2022). Corruption and population health in the European Union countries: an institutionalist perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), Article 5110. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095110
Subasat, T., & Bellos, S. (2013). Governance and foreign direct investment in Latin America: A panel gravity model approach. Latin American Journal of Economics, 50(1), 107–131. https://doi.org/10.7764/LAJE.50.1.107
Tag, M., & Degirmen, S. (2022). Economic freedom and foreign direct investment: Are they related? Economic Analysis and Policy, 73, 737–752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.12.020
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The World Bank. (2020b). Doing business indicators. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/doing-business
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Vuckovic, M., Bobek, V., Macek, A., Skoko, H., & Horvat, T. (2020). Business environment and foreign direct investments: the case of selected European emerging economies. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 33(1), 243–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1710228
Yerrabati, S., & Hawkes, D. (2016). Institutions and investment in the South and East Asia and Pacific Region: Evidence from meta-analysis. Economics – The Open Access, Open Assessment E-Journal, 10, 1–48. https://doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2016-11
Addison, T., & Heshmati, A. (2003). The new global determinants of FDI flows to developing countries: the importance of ICT and democratization (WIDER Discussion Paper No. 45). World Institute for Development Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1567-7915(04)04007-8
Bailey, N. (2018). Exploring the relationship between institutional factors and FDI attractiveness: A meta-analytic review. International Business Review, 27(1), 139–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2017.05.012
Bellak, C., Leibrecht, M., & Rield, A. (2008). Labour costs and FDI flows into Central and Eastern European Countries: A survey of the literature and empirical evidence. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 19(1), 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2007.03.001
Bevan, A., Estrin, S., & Meyer, K. (2004). Foreign investment location and institutional development in transition economies. International Business Review, 13(1), 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2003.05.005
Blanc-Brude, F., Cookson, G., Piesse, J., & Strange, R. (2014). The FDI location decision: Distance and the effects of spatial dependence. International Business Review, 23, 797–810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.12.002
Boudreaux, C., & Holcombe, R. (2018). Is institutional improvement possible? Applied Economics Letters, 25(11), 758–761. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2017.1363856
Buchanan, B., Le, Q., & Rishi, M. (2012). Foreign direct investment and institutional quality: Some empirical evidence. International Review of Financial Analysis, 21, 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2011.10.001
Campos, N., & Kinoshita, Y. (2003). Why does FDI go where it goes? New evidence from the transition economies (IMF Working Paper No. 228). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451875461.001
Carstensen, K., & Toubal, F. (2004). Foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern European countries: A dynamic panel analysis. Journal of Comparative Economics, 32(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2003.11.001
Cieslik, A., & Gurshev, O. (2020). Determinants of inward FDI in Ukraine: Does political stability matter? International Journal of Management and Economics, 56(3), 243–254. https://doi.org/10.2478/ijme-2020-0021
Cuervo-Cazurra, A. (2008). Better the devil you don’t know: Types of corruption and FDI in transition economies. Journal of International Management, 14(1), 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2007.02.003
Deichmann, J., Eshghi, A., Haughton, D., Ayek, S., & Teebagy, N. (2003). Foreign direct investment in the Eurasian transition states. Eastern European Economics, 41(1), 5–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00128775.2003.11041039
Duanmu, J. (2012). Firm heterogeneity and location choice of Chinese multinational enterprises. Journal of World Business, 47(1), 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2010.10.021
Dunning, J. (1993). Multinational enterprise and the global economy. Addison-Wesley.
Dunning, J. (1998). Location and the multinational enterprise: A neglected factor? Journal of International Business Studies, 29, 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490024
Dunning, J. (2005). Institutional reform, foreign direct investment and European transition economies. In R. Grosse (Eds.), International Business and Government Relations in the 21st Century (pp. 49–78). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511488597.003
Freedom House. (2020). Freedom in the world comparative and historical date: Country and territory ratings and statuses, 2015–2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world.
Gilmore, A., O’Donnell, A., Carson, D., & Cummins, D. (2003). Factors influencing foreign direct investment and international joint ventures: A comparative study of Northern Ireland and Bahrain. International Marketing Review, 20(2), 195–215. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330310470401
Groh, A., & Wich, M. (2009). A composite measure to determine a host country’s attractiveness for foreign direct investment (IESE Business School Research Papers D/833). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1550717
Harms, P., & Ursprung, H. (2002). Do civil and political repression really boost foreign direct investments? Economic Inquiry, 40(4), 651–663. https://doi.org/10.1093/ei/40.4.651
Hassan, A. S. (2022). Does country risk influence foreign direct investment inflows? A case of the Visegrad Four. Economies, 10(9), Article 221. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10090221
Henisz, W. (2000). The institutional environment for multinational investment. Journal of Law, Economics and Organizations, 16(2), 334–364. https://doi.org/10.1093/jleo/16.2.334
Hines, J. (1996). Altered states: taxes and the location of FDI in America. The American Economic Review, 86(5), 1076–1094.
Ishaq, M. (1997). Foreign direct investment in Ukraine since independence (CERT Discussion Papers No. 97/16). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.80289
Jayasuriya, D. (2011). Improvements in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings. Do they translate into greater foreign direct investment inflows? (Policy Research Working Paper 5787). The World Bank, Washington D.C. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-5787
Jensen, N. (2003). Democratic governance and multinational corporations: political regimes and inflows of foreign direct investment. International Organization, 57(3), 587–616. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818303573040
Kersan-Skabic, I. (2015). The importance of corporate taxation for FDI attractiveness of Southeast European Countries. Panoeconomicus, 62(1), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.2298/PAN1501105K
Kim, J., & Aguilera, R. (2016). Foreign location choice: review and extensions. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18, 133–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12064
Kim, K. (2010). Political stability and foreign direct investment. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 2(3), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v2n3p59
Lucke, N., & Eichler, S. (2016). Foreign direct investment: The role of institutional and cultural determinants. Applied Economics, 48(11), 935–956. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2015.1090551
Marselina, M., & Prasetyo, T. (2023). The effect of natural resources rent and institutional factors on investment inflow. Quality. Access to Success, 24(192), 208–213. https://doi.org/10.47750/QAS/24.192.25
Mengistu, A., & Adhikary, B. (2011). Does good governance matter for FDI inflows? Evidence from Asian economies. Asia Pacific Business Review, 17(3), 281–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381003755765
Michalet, C. (1997). Strategies of multinationals and competition for foreign direct investment: The opening of Central and Eastern Europe. The World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-4161-8
Moosa, I. (2002). Foreign direct investment: Theory, evidence and practice. Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403907493
Nardo, M., Saisana M., Saltelli, A., Tarantola, S., Hoffman, A., & Giovannini, E. (2008). Handbook on constructing composite indicators. Methodology and user guide. OECD Publishing.
Newman, K. (2000). Organizational transformation during institutional upheaval. Academy of Management Review, 25(3), 602–619. https://doi.org/10.2307/259313
Nielsen, B., Asmussen, C., & Weatherall, C. (2017). The location choice of foreign direct investments: Empirical evidence and methodological challenges. Journal of World Business, 52(1), 62–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2016.10.006
North, D. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808678
OECD. (2020). Country risk classifications of the participants to the arrangement on officially supported export credits. http://www.oecd.org/trade/topics/export-credits/documents/cre-crc-historical-internet-english.pdf
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (2006). Best practice guide for a positive business and investment climate. Vienna.
Pain, N., & Holland, D. (1998). The diffusion of innovations in Central and Eastern Europe: A study of the determinants and impact of foreign direct investment (NIESR Discussion Papers No 137). National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London.
Perchoc, P. (2016). The European neighborhood policy in-depth analysis (EPRS- PE 595.865). European Parliamentary Research Service.
Pirju, I., Marchis, G., Panaitescu, M., Prunau, F., & Ambrozie, A. (2023). Foreign direct investments – a perspective of sustainability: Evidence from the Austrian and German labor market. Sustainability, 15(18), Article 13457. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813457
Quazi, R. (2007). Economic freedom and foreign direct investment in East Asia. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 12(3), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860701405755
Sabir, S., Rafique, A., & Abbas, K. (2019). Institutions and FDI: Evidence from developed and developing countries. Financial Innovation, 5, Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-019-0123-7
Saha, S., Sadekin, M., & Saha. S. K. (2022). Effects of institutional quality on foreign direct investment inflow in lower-middle income countries. Heliyon, 8(10), Article e10828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10828
Shenai, V., Shcherbyna, A., Voronin, S., & Olkhovskyy, D. (2020). The determinants of FDI in six former FSU countries: A study of data 1995–2017. Journal of European Economy, 19(72), 140–181. https://doi.org/10.35774/jee2020.01.140
Socoliuc, O., & Maha, L. (2019). The economic dynamics of the Eastern Partnership countries: between development gaps and internal fragilities. In G. Rouet & G. C. Pascariu (Eds.), Resilience and the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood countries: From theoretical concepts to a normative agenda (pp. 89–135). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25606-7
Socoliuc, O., Sirghi, N., Jemma, D., & David, M. (2022). Corruption and population health in the European Union countries: an institutionalist perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), Article 5110. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095110
Subasat, T., & Bellos, S. (2013). Governance and foreign direct investment in Latin America: A panel gravity model approach. Latin American Journal of Economics, 50(1), 107–131. https://doi.org/10.7764/LAJE.50.1.107
Tag, M., & Degirmen, S. (2022). Economic freedom and foreign direct investment: Are they related? Economic Analysis and Policy, 73, 737–752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.12.020
The Heritage Foundation. (2020). Index of economic freedom. Retrieved October 10, 2020, from https://www.heritage.org/index/explore
The World Bank. (2020a). Worldwide governance indicators. Retrieved October 16, 2020, from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/worldwide-governance-indicators
The World Bank. (2020b). Doing business indicators. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/doing-business
The World Bank. (2020c). World development indicators. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators#
UNCTAD. (2009). Best practices in investment for development: How post-conflict countries can attract and benefit from FDI. Lessons from Croatia and Mozambique. Investment Advisory Series B, No. 3. United Nations Publication.
United Nations Development Programme. (2020). Human development reports. https://doi.org/10.18356/9789210055161
Vuckovic, M., Bobek, V., Macek, A., Skoko, H., & Horvat, T. (2020). Business environment and foreign direct investments: the case of selected European emerging economies. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 33(1), 243–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1710228
Yerrabati, S., & Hawkes, D. (2016). Institutions and investment in the South and East Asia and Pacific Region: Evidence from meta-analysis. Economics – The Open Access, Open Assessment E-Journal, 10, 1–48. https://doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2016-11