Foreign direct investment-led growth: evidence from time series and panel data

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on capital accumulation, and output and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the recipient economy. Time series and panel data evidence are provided for a sample of OECD and non-OECD countries in the period 1970-90. Although FDI is expected to boost long-run growth in the recipient economy via technological upgrading and knowledge spillovers, it is shown that the extent to which FDI is growth-enhancing depends on the degree of complementarity and substitution between FDI and domestic investment.