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202. The BRICS and international peacebuilding and statebuilding
- Author:
- Oliver Richmond and Ioannis Tellidis
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- The emergence of the BRICS has generated a renewed debate about peacebuilding and donor activity. This has slowly influenced the aims, norms and practices of international peacebuilding, statebuilding and development. There are subtle differences in BRICS members' interests, approaches and motives, power, influence, and adherence to or rejection of established standards (such as OECD-DAC principles). These states' activities have often attracted scepticism and criticism from traditional donors. An examination of their engagement with interventionary forms of development, peacebuilding, statebuilding, and their related institutions and practices shows that the BRICS can be both “status-quo” and “critical” actors. On the one hand, they all engage with the liberal peace paradigm and its often-neoliberal agenda that allows them to protect sovereignty and non-intervention, pursue trade interests, and advance their own interests (like a seat on the UN Security Council, regional stability or maintaining their often-ambiguous status of being both aid donors and recipients). On the other hand, their involvement has challenged peacebuilding's and development's Euro-Atlantic character through the unfolding of their own donor and peace agendas. This report highlights the instances in which traditional and emerging actors' agendas converge and diverge – and the motivations behind these agendas.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, United Nations, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
203. Inward FDI in Ireland and its policy context, 2012
- Author:
- Louis Brennan and Rakhi Verma
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Despite the global financial and economic crises and a sharp downturn in the domestic economy between 2008 and 2009, Ireland managed to attract large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2010. Inward FDI (IFDI) flows in 2010 were at a similar level to those in 2009, the second highest in Ireland's FDI history. However in 2011, there was a decline in such flows. While Ireland's economy has been greatly affected by the global crisis, Irish government initiatives have further fostered the country's attractiveness as an investment location for the world's firms. All indications are that Ireland's IFDI performance will continue to surpass that of most countries into the near future.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ireland
204. Inward FDI in Germany and its policy context, 2012
- Author:
- Thomas Jost
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In 2011 and the first half of 2012, inward FDI (IFDI) flows to Germany continued to be relatively strong. Germany attracte market-seeking MNEs, as its economy showed remarkable economic growth despite the ongoing problems in many other countries of the Eurozone. In the second half of 2012, IFDI flows turned sharply negative, declining for the year as a whole to only US$ 7 billion, compared with US$ 49 billion in 2011. This decline reflects the difficult financial situation of many companies, including banks in the Eurozone, and could also dampen inflows in 2013. In the longer-term, Germany could profit again from rising FDI as its economy has successfully implemented reforms over the past decade, and the German Government has continued to keep its investment policy regime open.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Germany
205. Outward FDI from Israel's Largest MNEs Continues to Rise in 2011
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Recanati Business School of Tel Aviv University, The Manufacturers Association of Israel, and the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC), a joint center of the Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York, are releasing the results of their fifth annual survey of Israeli multinational enterprises (MNEs) today. The survey is part of the Emerging Market Global Players (EMGP) project, a long-term study of the rapid global expansion of MNEs from emerging markets. The results released today focus on data for the year 2011.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- New York and Middle East
206. The Global Energy Conversation (Part 3)
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Abstract:
- It seems apparent that innovation will be required across the energy sector in order to help it meet the twin challenges of rising energy demand and climate change. But seemingly well-meaning policies can turn out to have an adverse effect on innovation and the world's current economic woes may limit the pace of investment. In which energy sources is innovation most needed? How can governments get the policy framework right for stimulating innovation, and then put it to work?
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, Energy Policy, and Foreign Direct Investment
207. 2013 Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances With a Special Report on Emerging Economies
- Author:
- Carol Adelman, Yulya Spantchak, Jeremiah Norris, and Kacie Marano
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Hudson Institute
- Abstract:
- The Center for Global Prosperity (CGP) at Hudson Institute is pleased to present the 2013 Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances. This edition, our eighth Index, continues to show the growth in philanthropy, remittances and private investment throughout the world. It continues to show how private financial flows have surpassed government aid, and how new forms of giving are redefining foreign assistance and economic growth.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Government, Humanitarian Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
208. Impact of China‐Africa Investment Relations: The Case of Ethiopia
- Author:
- Alemayehu Geda and Atenafu G. Meskel
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- This study investigated the growing relation between Ethiopia and China in the last decade. It is possible for Chinese-Africa relations to be either complementary or competitive (or indeed both) and it has multifaceted features. Notwithstanding this multifaceted linkage, the study focused on one of the channels – the investment (FDI) channel. Other channels are explored depending on the degree at which they shed light on understanding the Chinese-Ethiopian investment relations, which is the subject of this study.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Ethiopia
209. The Impact of China‐Africa Investment Relations: The Case of Madagascar
- Author:
- Jean Razafindravonona, Eric Rakotomanana, and Jimmy Rajaobelina
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- The rapid and spectacular expansion of the Chinese economy in the recent past is, for African countries, an opportunity to take advantage of not only in terms of strengthening the South-South cooperation, but also of developing African economies. It is thus important to define the channels through which African countries would do so. It is with this goal in mind that the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) initiated the research project on the impact of the economic relation between China and sub-Saharan African countries.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Global Political Economy, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Madagascar
210. The Impact of China‐Africa Trade Relations: The Case of the Republic of Congo
- Author:
- Jean‐Christophe Boungou Bazika
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- The relations between China and Congo are already old since they began in 1963. However since the beginning of the 2000s, the economic relations between the two countries are characterized by an unprecedented dynamism. Congo’s exports and imports with China recorded a leap of 179.38% and 309.21% respectively for the period 2001-2005. Such a trend pushed analysts to predict that the relations between Africa and China should have a significant impact and lead to upheavals in the structure of African economies. Two tendencies emerged in the literature: the first predicts that these relations would have a negative impact, in the sense that they would provoke a competition that African producers would not be able to bear. The second predicts that these relations would enable African countries to consolidate their growth, thanks to the diversification of trade and the installation of infrastructures which were lacking - such as roads, bridges, hydro-electric dams, drinking water purification plants, etc.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Global Political Economy, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Republic of Congo
211. Alternative Investment Regimes for Direct Foreign and Domestic Investments in Russian Subsoil
- Author:
- Andrei Konoplyanik
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Harriman Institute
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the evolution of the Russian investment regime in the subsoil in its both key – legal and tax - components starting from the very beginning of post-Soviet Russia in early 1990s up to the present day. We will discuss what are the prospects of its further development on a “slightly different” (or alternative) basis compared to the one that exists today.
- Topic:
- Foreign Direct Investment, Legal Theory, Tax Systems, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Eastern Europe
212. On Returns Differentials
- Author:
- Stephanie E. Curcuru, Charles Thomas, and Francis E. Warnock
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- Estimates of U.S. returns differentials have ranged from exorbitant to quite small, in part because of their volatility coupled with the relatively short time series available. We shed light on underlying drivers of returns differentials by presenting a number of decompositions: a by-asset-class decomposition into yields and capital gains, the Gourinchas and Rey (2007a) composition and return effects, and further decompositions of capital gains that focus on exchange rate effects. While each decomposition informs thinking about returns differentials, one constant is evident throughout: to date the existing differential favoring the U.S. has owed primarily to one factor, a differential in direct investment yields. We discuss how our analysis informs the income puzzle (of positive net income flows to the U.S. even as its net international investment position is negative and substantial) and the position puzzle (of a sizeable gap between the reported U.S. net international position and cumulated current account deficits), provide an initial assessment of the literature on the dynamics of returns differentials, and present a framework to guide a forward-looking view of how returns differentials might evolve in the future.
- Topic:
- Foreign Direct Investment, Financial Markets, Investment, and Stock Markets
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
213. Portfolio Diversification and the Cross-Sectional Distribution of Foreign Investment
- Author:
- Alexandra Tabova
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- In this paper I explore the role of portfolio diversification in explaining the distribution of foreign investment across countries. I capture the portfolio diversification motive by a measure of country-specific riskiness, "covariance risk", which I construct as how countries' growth rates covary with the stochastic discount factor of a representative international investor. My key new empirical finding is a strong and significant correlation between this new measure of country riskiness and foreign investment allocations. Less risky countries, i.e. countries whose growth rates are more highly correlated with the investor's stochastic discount factor, receive larger investment shares than more risky countries. I interpret this result as evidence that investors do take into account diversification opportunities, not only for portfolio investment decisions, but also for foreign direct investment decisions. My empirical results confirm the theoretical predictions of standard portfolio allocation models.
- Topic:
- Foreign Direct Investment, Investment, Risk, Fiscal Policy, Securities, and Stock Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
214. Chinese Direct Investment in California
- Author:
- Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Asia Society
- Abstract:
- A new report entitled Chinese Direct Investment in California published by the Asia Society finds that California has attracted more Chinese investment deals than any other U.S. state but remains fifth in the nation in total investment value. Negligible before 2008, Chinese investment in the state is growing at triple-digit levels and could reach $60 billion by 2020, but only if the state and private sector do a better job working together to attract Chinese capital. The report is co-authored by Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann of the Rhodium Group and builds on a 2011 Asia Society study, entitled An American Open Door?: Maximizing the Benefits of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment, which looked more broadly at Chinese investment into the U.S. The new report is the most comprehensive study to date of Chinese investment in the Golden State and in the U.S. overall. It finds that the potential gains for California and China are enormous but that success is far from guaranteed. U.S.-China relations remain tense and protectionism is a serious threat. At the state level, California has had a mixed record of promoting its economic strengths. The report urges policy and business leaders in the state to do better to out-compete other states, and nations, that seek to increase their own shares of the Chinese outbound investment surge. Four decades ago, Japanese direct investment in the U.S. was at a similar stage. Now, it totals some $300 billion, employs 700,000 Americans, and undergirds a strong, stable U.S.-Japan relationship. Investment and trade between the U.S. and China show even greater promise today. Compared to the rest of the U.S., the report finds that Chinese investment in California is disproportionately from private rather than state-owned enterprises, greenfield rather than M&As, and strongest in high-tech and high-value services — areas that the Chinese government and private sector have targeted for accelerated growth. Of the $1.3 billion in Chinese investment in the state since 2000, Southern California leads the state in investment with 69 deals totaling $618 million. The San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley/South Bay regions are the second and third most attractive regions for Chinese investors.
- Topic:
- Bilateral Relations, Foreign Direct Investment, Business, and Economic Growth
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, California, North America, and United States of America
215. Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance
- Author:
- David Roodman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Microfinance: Few development ideas have been so buoyed by high expectations in recent decades, and few have been so buffeted by difficulties in recent years. Images of microfinance lifting people out of poverty now compete with ones of the poor driven by debt to suicide. Where does the truth lie? David Roodman investigates in Due Diligence. He finds no evidence that small loans lift people out of poverty en masse but argues that financial services, like clean water and electricity, are essential to a modern life. The practical question is not whether microfinance should continue, but how it can play to its strengths, which lie in providing useful services to millions of poor people in a businesslike way. Due Diligence is the most complete investigation ever into the sources and consequences of microfinance. Rood - man explores the financial needs of poor people, the history of efforts to meet those needs, the business realities of doing so, and the arguments and evidence about how well modern microfinance is succeeding.
- Topic:
- Debt, Development, Economics, Globalization, Poverty, and Foreign Direct Investment
216. The Emergence of China in the Middle East
- Author:
- James Chen
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- During the 9th century, Arab traders regularly plied lucrative maritime routes that connected the Persian Gulf to southern China by way of the Indian Ocean. This commercial activity, which mostly involved jade, silk, and other luxury goods, went on for centuries and became part of what is now known as the Silk Road. In some ways, the world is now witnessing a restoration of that ancient trading relationship between two civilizations—except that oil and consumer goods have replaced jade and silk.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, Middle East, and Arabia
217. Credit-constrained in Risky Activities? The Determinants of the Capital Stocks of Micro and Small Firms in Western Africa
- Author:
- Jann Lay, Michael Grimm, and Simon Lange
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries are typically considered to be severely credit constrained. Additionally, high business risks may partly explain why the capital stocks of MSEs remain low. This article analyzes the determinants of the capital stocks of MSEs in poor economies focusing on credit constraints and risk. The analysis is based on a unique, albeit cross-sectional but backward-looking, micro data set on MSEs covering the economic capitals of seven West-African countries. The main result is that capital market imperfections indeed seem to explain an important part of the variation in capital stocks in the early lifetime of MSEs. Furthermore, the analyses show that risk plays a key role in capital accumulation. Risk-averse individuals seem to adjust their initially low capital stocks upwards when enterprises grow older. MSEs in risky activities owned by wealthy individuals even seem to over-invest when they start their business and subsequently adjust capital stocks downwards. As other firms simultaneously suffer from capital shortages, such behaviour may imply large inefficiencies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- West Africa
218. Nation states and nationality of MNEs
- Author:
- Seev Hirsch
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this Perspective is to explore the relationship between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their home countries. I use the term “nationality” when discussing a home country, to stress the contrast with “multinationality” which refers to business enterprises. The question I seek to address is whether, ceteris paribus, nation states have an economic interest in becoming home countries to MNEs. This is not a trivial question, bearing in mind that in many countries -- especially those with emerging markets -- outward foreign direct investment (FDI) has been frowned upon long after incoming FDI was generally welcome by local governments and academic scholars.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Foreign Direct Investment
219. Towards the successful implementation of the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
- Author:
- Tadahiro Asami
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) has accepted the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (Guidelines), adopted on May 25, 2011 after a series of negotiations and consultations among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), adhering governments, BIAC, the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, and OECD Watch, an international network of civil society organizations. The Guidelines are the most comprehensive government-endorsed code of responsible business conduct. The Update upheld the voluntary and non-legally binding character of the Guidelines, and while the new text introduces important new elements, the Update is very carefully formulated and its changes are accompanied by extensive conditionalities.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
220. FDI stocks are a biased measure of MNE affiliate activity: A response
- Author:
- Mira Wilkins
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In a recent Perspective, Beugelsdijk, Hennart, Slangen, and Smeets warned readers about biases in the measure of FDI stock. They are to be congratulated for pushing readers to be careful in the use of data.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
221. Is China's outward investment in oil a global security concern?
- Author:
- Ilan Alon and Aleh Cherp
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The motivations prompting China's dramatic increase in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) are not always clear, especially regarding OFDI by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in energy and natural resources. First, both commercial and governmental interests are intertwined, although not necessarily in lock-step. Chinese SOEs listed in the West may worry about the reputational risks to their global corporate citizenship, while government stakeholders may instead focus on diplomatic international relations. Second, subsidies for oil investments may be viewed as serving Chinese national interests and threatening the national security of the host countries. Whether China's OFDI will benefit or harm global energy security, economic development and diplomatic relations is still hotly contested.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Oil, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China
222. State-controlled entities as "investors" under international investment agreements
- Author:
- Jo En Low
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- A review of the definition of “investor” and investor-state dispute resolution clauses in 851 international investment agreements (IIAs) reveals that, except in two, state controlled entities (SCEs) (sovereign wealth funds and state-owned enterprises (SOEs)) have equivalent standing to their purely private counterparts as investors under such IIAs.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
223. Absent from the discussion: The other half of investment promotion
- Author:
- Lise Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- As UNCTAD highlighted over a decade ago and again recently in its Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development, home-country measures (HCMs), like host-country commitments regarding the protection of foreign investors, are tools of promoting foreign investment. Nevertheless, the vast bulk of investment treaties, which state the promotion of foreign investment as their objective, overlook the potential role of HCMs and focus rather singularly on setting out the obligations of host countries regarding the treatment of foreign investors. Even recent agreements and model investment treaties that should represent “next generation” practices incorporating accumulated learning about the impacts and effectiveness of these treaties remain relatively devoid of any obligation for governments to facilitate or promote the quantity and quality of outward investment that many countries want and need for sustainable development.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
224. Reconciling IMF rules and international investment agreements: An innovative derogation for capital controls
- Author:
- Elizabeth L. Broomfield
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- There is currently no universal framework governing capital controls. As a result, a conflict has arisen due to the different approaches taken by various international organizations and many international investment agreements (IIAs). In particular, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- established to manage the international financial system -- preserves national autonomy over capital controls when such measures are deemed necessary; in contrast, IIAs, and especially bilateral investment treaties (BITs) -- crafted primarily to protect investors -- typically do not allow for the imposition of restrictions on capital outflows associated with foreign investments for balance-of-payments reasons.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Monetary Fund, Foreign Aid, Foreign Direct Investment, and Financial Crisis
225. A new economic nationalism? Lessons from the PotashCorp decision in Canada
- Author:
- Sandy Walker
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In its World Investment Report 2011, UNCTAD reported that liberalizing investment policy measures taken globally in 2010 outnumbered restrictive measures. Without the benefit of statistics, investors might have drawn the opposite conclusion, witnessing what appears to be a rising tide of national resistance to foreign takeovers: the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board's rejection of a takeover of the Australian Securities Exchange by the Singapore Exchange, Italian concern over a French company's takeover of dairy giant Parmalat and the US Government's requirement that Chinese company Huawei divest certain assets it had acquired from 3Leaf.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Canada, Australia, and Singapore
226. A good business reason to support mandatory transparency in extractive industries
- Author:
- Julien Topal and Perrine Toledano
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Transparency demands in extractive industries are tied to the complex paradoxical correlation between significant resource endowment and poverty in many resource dependent countries. Citizens of these countries and international investors alike only have limited means to scrutinize money-flows between governments and companies, disrupting accountability mechanisms.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
227. Attracting FDI through BITs and RTAs: Does treaty content matter?
- Author:
- Peter Nunnenkamp, Martin Roy, Axel Berger, and Matthias Busse
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- It may appear all too obvious that the extent to which foreign direct investment (FDI) is attracted by bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and regional trade agreements (RTAs) depends on the strength of key investment provisions. Still, BITs and RTAs have typically been treated as black boxes in prior empirical literature, ignoring two important legal innovations: investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and pre-establishment national treatment (NT) provisions.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
228. Law at two speeds: Legal frameworks regulating foreign investment in the global South
- Author:
- Lorenzo Cotula
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Foreign investment in developing countries' natural resources brings into contact competing interests characterized by an unequal balance of negotiating power -- from multinational enterprises and host governments to people affected by the implementation of investment projects. Economic globalization has been accompanied by extensive developments in national and international norms regulating investment and its impact -- including investment law, natural resource law and human rights law. These norms affect the way the costs, risks and benefits of investments are shared among the multiple parties involved.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Law, Foreign Direct Investment, and Law
229. Roll out the red carpet and they will come: Investment promotion and FDI inflows
- Author:
- Torfinn Harding and Beata Javorcik
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Foreign direct investment flows to developing countries are hindered by many factors. Two of these factors -- the mere lack of information and red tape -- could be easily remedied through investment promotion efforts.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
230. Much ado about nothing? State-controlled entities and the change in German investment law
- Author:
- Thomas Jost
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The rise of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) -- together state-controlled entities (SCEs) -- has led to concerns that SCEs could threaten national security by following political rather than mere commercial goals with respect to their foreign direct investment (FDI). While developed countries acknowledged that the rise of SCEs should not lead to new barriers to FDI, several have changed their legislation to expand government oversight of FDI flows. In 2009, Germany also tightened its foreign investment regime. What are the first experiences with this change in German investment law?
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Foreign Direct Investment, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
231. Poland: Industry Forecast
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxford Economics
- Abstract:
- GDP is expected to rise by 2.6% in 2012 and expand by 2.7% in 2013. Over the next 10 years to 2021, GDP is predicted to grow on average by 3.2% a year. Manufacturing output growth is forecast to be higher than GDP growth over the next decade. Manufacturing output is expected to increase by 2.1% in 2012 and expand by 5.3% in 2013. Over the next 10 years to 2021, manufacturing output is expected to grow on average by 4.3% a year. As a result, the share of manufacturing output in GDP is projected to rise from 25.4% in 2011 to 27.2% by 2016 and increase to 28.7% by 2021. Over the same period, the share of service sector output in GDP is expected to decline from 58.5% in 2011 to 57.2% in 2016 and fall to 56.2% in 2021.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
232. China: Industry Forecast
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxford Economics
- Abstract:
- GDP is expected to rise by 7.9% in 2012 and expand by 8.7% in 2013. Over the next 10 years to 2021, GDP is predicted to grow on average by 7.8% a year. Manufacturing output growth is forecast to be higher than GDP growth over the next decade. Manufacturing output is expected to increase by 8.8% in 2012 and expand by 9.4% in 2013. Over the next 10 years to 2021, manufacturing output is expected to grow on average by 7.9% a year. As a result, the share of manufacturing output in GDP is projected to rise from 34.0% in 2011 to 35.1% by 2016 and increase to 35.6% by 2021. Over the same period, the share of service sector output in GDP is expected to expand from 41.7% in 2011 to 43.8% in 2016 and rise to 45.5% in 2021.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China and Israel
233. Country Economic Forecasts: Thailand
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxford Economics
- Abstract:
- GDP expanded by 11% on the quarter in Q1 in seasonally adjusted terms, recovering strongly after contracting by more than 10% on the same basis in Q4 when flooding decimated the manufacturing sector. But compared with a year earlier, the economy expanded by just 0.3% in Q1, illustrating the scale of the catastrophe.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Foreign Direct Investment, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Thailand and Southeast Asia
234. Post-2015 Development Agenda: Goals, Targets and Indicators
- Author:
- Barry Carin, Nicole Bates-Eamer, Min Ha Lee, Wonhyuk Lim, and Mukesh Kapila
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
- Abstract:
- In September 2000, world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit recognized a collective responsibility to work toward “a more peaceful, prosperous and just world” (UN, 2000). The MDGs reaffirmed this vision and launched an ambitious global partnership for development, setting specific targets to be met by 2015 and using numerical indicators to measure progress. The MDGs recognized the stark reality of widespread human deprivation and environmental degradation, and galvanized support to reduce poverty, achieve basic education and health, and promote gender equality and environmental sustainability.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
235. Transformations on Whose Terms? Understanding the New EU-ACP Trade Relations from the Outside In
- Author:
- Ulrike Lorenz
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
- Abstract:
- In the past ten years, the long-standing trade relations between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries have experienced radical transformations. The negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and seven regional groupings formed by the ACP countries have led to the EU being maneuvered into an unexpectedly weak position. For the first time, European negotiators had to substantially leave their pre-agreed negotiation path and positions due to the immense pressure from ACP countries, regional organizations, and non-state actors – and still have not been able to finalize negotiations that had initially been expected to only take five years until the end of 2007.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia/Pacific, and Caribbean
236. Hoping to Win, Expected to Lose: Theory and Lessons on Microenterprise Development
- Author:
- Dean Karlan, Ryan Knight, and Christopher Udry
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- We show how financial and managerial constraints impede experimentation and thus limit learning about the profitability of investments. Imperfect information about one's own type, but willingness to experiment to learn one's type, leads to short-run negative expected returns to investments, with some outliers succeeding. We find in an experiment that entrepreneurs invest randomized grants of cash and adopt advice from randomized grants of consulting services, but both lead to lower profits on average. In the long run, they revert back to their prior scale of operations. In a meta-analysis, results from 19 other experiments find mixed support for this theory.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Markets, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa
237. Agricultural Decisions after Relaxing Credit and Risk Constraints
- Author:
- Dean Karlan, Robert Osei, Christopher Udry, and Isaac Osei-Akoto
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- The investment decisions of small-scale farmers in developing countries are conditioned by the farmers' financial environment. Binding credit-market constraints and incomplete insurance can reduce investment in activities with high expected profits. We conducted several experiments in northern Ghana in which farmers were randomly assigned to receive cash grants, grants of or opportunities to purchase rainfall-index insurance, or a combination of the two. Demand for index insurance is strong, and insurance leads to significantly larger agricultural investment and riskier production choices in agriculture. The salient constraint to farmer investment is uninsured risk: when provided with insurance against the primary catastrophic risk they face, farmers are able to find resources to increase expenditure on their farms. Demand for insurance in subsequent years is strongly increasing in a farmer's own receipt of insurance payouts, and with the receipt of payouts by others in the farmer's social network. Both investment patterns and the demand for index insurance are consistent with the presence of important basis risk associated with the index insurance, and with imperfect trust that promised payouts will be delivered.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Markets, Food, and Foreign Direct Investment
238. Beyond the Millennium Development Goals Agreeing to a Post-2015 Development Framework
- Author:
- Alex Evans and David Steven
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
- Abstract:
- This paper provides an overview of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their expected status in 2012; describes the background to, and options for, a post-2015 framework; and discusses how governments can best navigate the political challenges of agreeing to a new set of development goals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China
239. Better Rules for a Better Future: Regulating private sector agriculture
- Author:
- Maria Dolores Bernabe
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The ASEAN Investment Report for 2011 considers 2010 as an important year for the region in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. FDIs in ASEAN for the said year reached a record high of US 75.8 million dollars, nearly double the inflows in 2009. Included in these FDIs were private sector investments in agriculture, as Southeast Asia has become one of the most favored destinations of large-scale agricultural land investments.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Gender Issues, Food, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia
240. Transactions: A New Look at Services Sector Foreign Direct Investment in Asia
- Author:
- Jacob Funk Kirkegaard
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
- Abstract:
- In this paper Kirkegaard presents new micro-level data consisting of individual greenfield investment projects and mergers and acquisitions as a source for detailed analysis of services sector cross-border investment flows among the Asian Development Bank (ADB) regional membership in Asia. The new transactional foreign direct investment (FDI) data are methodologically distinct from traditional BPM5-compliant FDI data but found to yield generally comparable aggregates, when compared with the latest available International Monetary Fund (IMF) data from the Comprehensive Direct Investment Survey for the ADB regional membership. The services sectors are found to receive considerably larger amounts of foreign investment, when compared with the Asian region's manufacturing and raw materials sectors. OECD countries account for roughly three-quarters of total recorded inward services sector FDI of about $2 trillion, relatively evenly split between the United States, the EU-27, and regional OECD-level-income countries. The presence of sizable regional "upward flowing" services sector investments into OECD-level-income economies is verified. Kirkegaard draws preliminary policy conclusions based on the new transactional FDI data results concerning prospects for regional services sector liberalization, threshold income levels for inward services sector FDI, upward-flowing regional services FDI, and preferred modes of services sector investments.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States, Israel, and Asia
241. A China – US bilateral investment treaty: A template for a multilateral framework for investment?
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant and Huiping Chen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- China is the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) host and home country among emerging markets, the United States among developed countries. As host countries, both seek to maintain policy space to pursue their own legitimate public policy objectives; as home countries, both seek to protect their investors' outward FDI. The development of their bilateral investment treaties (BITs) over the past decade reflects this: Chinese BITs have become more protective of investors, US ones more respectful of host country interests. If agreement is reached between both, it would provide a template for future investment agreements.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
242. Inward foreign direct investment: Does it enable or constrain domestic technology entrepreneurship?
- Author:
- Saurav Pathak, André Laplume, and Emanuel Xavier-Oliveira
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Whether or not foreign direct investment (FDI) is essential for domestic technological and economic development remains a contentious question. The controversy is illustrated by comparing the Celtic and Asian Tigers experiences from 1995 to 2000. Based on IMF and World Bank data in constant prices, Ireland and China averaged an annual growth rate of 8% in GDP per capita. However, FDI per capita grew at an average pace of 98% per year in Ireland, while in China it decreased by 1% -- absolute values averaged US$ 3,397 versus US$ 144, respectively. This suggests that, rather than a one-policy-fits-all approach, customized policies are more appropriate; and, if any generalization can be made, it should be based on a country's stage of economic development.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Asia
243. Evaluate Sustainable FDI to Promote Sustainable Development
- Author:
- John M. Kline
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Prescriptions to increase the role of FDI in promoting sustainable development generally focus on the macro level -- getting policies right and otherwise improving the investment climate. These steps are necessary but not sufficient. Effective implementation processes, especially at the micro project level, are also essential to encourage FDI that matches host country development needs and priorities.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
244. China Reinterprets the Liberal Peace
- Author:
- Silvia Menegazzi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- China's assertiveness is growing. While in the past China's foreign policy kept a low profile in international affairs, global developments, prime amongst which in the Middle East, highlight China's growing influence in world politics and its ensuing role in shaping global norms. Within the liberal peace discourse, China's reinterpretation of international norms can be seen as the result of a mixture of prior local norms - sovereignty and non-interference - and changes within the international environment - namely conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East. Particularly, in terms of intervention and peace-building practices, China insists that a number of preconditions - which are encapsulated in the notion of Responsible Protection (RP) - have to be met in order to consider intervention in sovereign states. This paper argues that in order to achieve a full picture of Chinese foreign policy and its normative underpinnings, it is necessary to explore the debate within non-state actors beyond the government apparatus, such as think tanks and research institutions.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Emerging Markets, International Affairs, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, Middle East, Libya, North Africa, and Syria
245. Africa: open for business The potential, challenges and risks
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Africa is drawing increasing attention, not only from the perspective of businesses based in China and Europe, but also from operators in Africa itself. In particular, closer economic ties between Africa and China have been covered extensively by the media recently—with fairly mixed reviews. This paper highlights the potential, challenges and risks for doing business in Africa over the next few years.
- Topic:
- Development, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Europe
246. Cooperating with China in Africa
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- OECD donors, international organisations and non-governmental organisations are increasingly cooperating with China in Africa. This policy brief offers recommendations for policy-makers on how to lay the groundwork for such cooperation. It also stresses that the involvement of African partners is critical in fully realizing the benefits such cooperation can provide for sustainable development.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Diplomacy, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and China
247. Burundi: A Deepening Corruption Crisis
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Despite the establishment of anti-corruption agencies, Burundi is facing a deepening corruption crisis that threatens to jeopardise a peace that is based on development and economic growth bolstered by the state and driven by foreign investment. The “neopatrimonialist” practices of the party in office since 2005 has relegated Burundi to the lowest governance rankings, reduced its appeal to foreign investors, damaged relations with donors; and contributed to social discontent. More worrying still, neopatrimonialism is undermining the credibility of post-conflict institutions, relations between former Tutsi and new Hutu elites and cohesion within the ruling party, whose leaders are regularly involved in corruption scandals. In order to improve public governance, the Burundian authorities should “walk the talk” and take bold steps to curtail corruption. Civil society should actively pursue its watchdog role and organise mass mobilisation against corruption and donors should prioritise good governance.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Development, Foreign Aid, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa
248. Is Chinese FDI pushing Latin America into natural resources?
- Author:
- Miguel Pérez Ludeña
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America is a recent phenomenon. Although the China National Petroleum Corporation and other companies have been present in Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela since the early 1990s, large projects have been pursued only since 2006, following an extended period of high commodity prices. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimated that there were US$ 15 billion of Chinese FDI inflows into Latin America in 2010, 90% of which were in extractive industries. This further contributed to the already high percentage of Chinese FDI flows to the region that are in natural resources. At a time of high economic growth fueled by commodity exports and strong currency appreciation (particularly in Brazil), FDI into extractive industries strengthens the region's specialization in primary products at the expense of manufacturing and other activities.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Natural Resources, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, Brazil, Latin America, and Peru
249. The unbalanced dragon: China's uneven provincial and regional FDI performance
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant, Chen Zhao, and Xiaoying Huo
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Among developing countries, China attracts most foreign direct investment (FDI). Where is this investment located within China, what explains its distribution and what are policy implications? We used UNCTAD's FDI Performance Index to answer the first question. Although developed for countries , it can be applied to sub-national units. It uses provincial GDP to ascertain whether a given territorial unit has received FDI inflows as expected from its economic size. Standardizing the data accordingly reveals three clusters of provinces for 2007-2010 (table 1, figure 1 below): The first cluster encompasses virtually all coastal provinces: they have an index value above 1, i.e. perform better than their economic size would lead one to expect. They account for 9 of the top 11 performers of Mainland China's 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions (“provinces”). The provinces in the middle cluster underperform (index value of 1-0.5). They include 5 central provinces, but also 3 western and 2 coastal provinces. The provinces in the bottom cluster underperform significantly (index value below 0.5), comprising primarily the country's western provinces (8 out of the 10 provinces in this cluster).
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China
250. Different investment treaties, different effects
- Author:
- Clint Peinhardt and Todd Allee
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The proliferation of investment treaties is perhaps exceeded only by academic studies of those treaties. Legal scholarship has long been attentive to the evolution in international investment agreement (IIA) content -- but until recently, quantitative assessments of IIAs have tended to treat them as interchangeable: the only measure of investor protections encoded in IIAs is whether a treaty had been signed and/or entered into force. Thankfully, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has been at the forefront of capturing not just IIAs' proliferation but also the evolution in their content. Its work shows that treaties apply for differing durations, have conflicting procedures for termination and include varying definitions of even basic terms, such as “investors” and “investment.” Other quantitative studies have begun to measure these variations, focusing initially on differences in dispute resolution. 1 Some IIAs demand that investors choose between domestic and international dispute resolution; some provide explicit consent of both parties to international arbitration; and some designate a particular forum for arbitration, whereas others specify multiple options. Of course, IIAs vary across many dimensions, but our initial examination of dispute resolution provisions alone demonstrates the importance of examining IIA content.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United Nations