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This paper analyses the intensity of the influence of foreign direct investments, exports of goods and services, and research and development expenditure on GDP growth of developed and developing countries. Panel regression analysis determined that the exports of goods and services make the largest contribution to growth on middle levels of income. In fact, the contribution the export of goods and services makes to growth on middle levels of income is two times larger than in countries with a high GDP. The most essential impact on countries with a high GDP level was made by research and development expenditure, which is 3.5 times larger than its impact on the developing Balkan countries. The phenomenon of the Middle-Income Trap can be explained by insufficient research and development expenditure. Foreign direct investments are not statistically significant for the GDP growth of observed countries, but they achieve far better results on low development levels. The empirical data, presented in figures, confirms the conclusions of the econometric analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to recent trends, there is a focus on the interest in the Western Balkan economies to attract foreign capital in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) as a source of external financing and economic recovery factor. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyze the movement and impact of FDI on economic growth and foreign trade on the example of the Western Balkans (North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro). This analysis aims to examine the correlation and causal relationship between FDI, economic growth and the foreign trade case of each individual Western Balkan country. The inflow of foreign capital in the form of FDI in the Western Balkan countries has a positive impact on GDP growth, exports and imports. From the results, it can be concluded that the inflow of FDI into the Western Balkan countries has a positive effect on the economic growth and the increase of foreign trade. The analysis showed that FDI has a statistically significant and positive impact on GDP in the Western Balkan countries, and is a key precondition for intensifying foreign trade. This study provides a promising step towards developing a more comprehensive empirical research by a dynamic estimation procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]