Search

This research present the results of a six-month pilot program established to harness the knowledge of diaspora actors in facilitating inward investment to a region. In a scheme set up via a public-private partnership, several ʻconnectorsʼ positioned across the globe volunteered to act as knowledge-brokers to facilitate inward investment to Wales. Using an action research case study approach, including in-depth interviews and multiple focus groups at each stage of the pilot with multiple stakeholders (both the individual ʻconnectorsʼ and public and private actors) the knowledge-brokers reveal what knowledge they have, how they use their knowledge, and what knowledge gaps exist between the various actors within an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The findings derive the advantages and disadvantages of explicitly appointing ʻ connectors ʼ as socio-cultural knowledge brokers, the impact such a program could have on international cooperation, innovation, and regional development, and recommendations for the expansion of a formalized, sustainable program.

Youth employment opportunities have been the priority by the Kenyan Government over the past years, and various policies have been implemented to assure the employment opportunities growth. Economic growth is reckoned to be essential since a positive growth rate will encourage inward investment and improve revenues, which can be spent on long-term public sector works. However, youth unemployment is a consistent problematic element in Kenya, affecting the economy to a large extent. The general objective of this study is to examine the relationship between youth unemployment and economic growth in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study are to investigate the causal relationship between youth unemployment and economic growth in Kenya and to analyze the effect of economic growth on youth unemployment in Kenya. The theories studied include the theory of surplus-value, Solow-swan model, Okun's law, and Keynesian theory, which explain the aspects of unemployment and economic growth. Secondary data was collected and used to illustrate the relationship between the variables, while the methodology used was the Granger causality test and OLS. A unidirectional causal relationship existed linking the two variables, where the lags of economic growth granger cause youth unemployment, and the coefficient between the two variables was positive. Hence Okun's law coefficient didn't apply when it comes to youth unemployment as opposed to the overall unemployment. However, the coefficient was statistically significant.

PurposeA smart city is a city that functions in a sustainable and intelligent way, by integrating all of its infrastructures and services in a cohesive way using intelligent devices for monitoring and control, to ensure efficiency and better quality of life for its citizens. As other countries globally, the UK is keen on economic development and investment in smart-city missions to create interest in monetary environment and inward investment. This paper aims to explore the driving forces of smart road transport transformation and implementation in the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe study involved interviews with 16 professionals from the UK road transport sector. A semi-structured interview technique was used to collect experts' perception, which was then examined using content analysis.FindingsThe results of the study revealed that the technological advancement is a key driver. The main challenges faced during the implementation of smart-city elements in the UK road network are lack of investment, maintenance, state of readiness and the awareness of the smart road transport concept. The study concludes that an understanding of the concept of smart cities from a road transport perspective is very important to create awareness of the benefits and the way it works. A wider collaboration between every sector is crucial to create a successful smart city.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the field of digitalisation of road transport sector. This paper reveals the key driving forces of smart road transport transformation, the current status of smart road transport implementation in the UK and challenges of the smart road transport development in the UK.

Since peaking in 2016, Chinese outward investment, primarily to the US but also to the European Union (EU), has declined dramatically, especially in response to changes in China's domestic rules for capital outflow. Concern over growing Chinese influence in other economies, the ascendant role of a Communist Party‐led government in Beijing and the possible security implications of Chinese dominance in the high‐tech sector have put Chinese outward investment under international scrutiny. This paper analyzes the recent trends in Chinese investment in the US and the EU and reviews recent political and regulatory changes both have adopted toward Chinese inward investment. It also explores the emerging transatlantic difference in the regulatory response to the Chinese information technology firm, Huawei. Concerned about national security and as part of the ongoing broader trade friction with China, the US has cracked down far harder on the company than the EU.

Contagion has been one of the most widely studied and challenging problems in recent economic research. This paper aims at capturing the main impact of contagion risk of the U.S. on foreign direct investment inflows in 18 emerging countries. To quantify the degree of contagion, the time-varying tail dependence copula is employed. Then, the Granger causality test and time series regression analysis are used to investigate the temporal and contemporaneous effects of contagion risk on investment inflows, respectively. Overall, the results confirm the time-varying contagion effects of the U.S. economy on 18 emerging economies. The size of contagion effects gradually increases for all countries, except Thailand, the Philippines, Argentina, and Chile. Furthermore, the results of the Granger causality test and regression reveal that temporal and contemporaneous effects of contagion risk on investment inflows exist in 8 out of 18 countries.

Taiwan’s economy expanded moderately by 2.71% in 2019 despite the ongoing US–China trade war. The growing inward investment made by Taiwanese firms with overseas business operation had underpinned Taiwan’s economy despite falling exports. While mounting investment inflows to Taiwan would continue to buttress the economy, the rapid spread of coronavirus could threaten its growth prospects in 2020. In the long run, Taiwan’s lack of free trade agreements may further constrain its external trade development. Taiwan’s rapidly ageing population, one of key demographic trends, presents another challenge to its long-term economic prosperity.

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships between tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) determinants and tourism performance. This study specifically assessed the soundness of the TDC attributes and evaluated their ability in explaining tourism performance. Design/methodology/approach The Dwyer and Kim’s (2003) destination competitiveness integrated model (IM) was used. Secondary data of 115 nations available from the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) and other international reports were also used. The hypothesised relationships were tested via partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings This study confirms that the core resources, complementary condition, globalisation and tourism price significantly explain tourism performance. Results have shown differences in the competitiveness level and actual performance among nations, highlighting specific limitations of the current TDC model and TTCI report reliability. Research limitations/implications Future study could segment the sample base on destinations characteristic and then analyse it based on smaller sub-samples of similar destinations. Moreover, drivers of destination performance in developed and less develop destinations are quite diverse. Practical implications The incorrect competitiveness ranking evaluation will affect inward investment decisions. This study framework enables policymakers to arrive at more informed decisions than merely relying on the original competitiveness rankings. Originality/value The widespread acknowledgment of the importance of competitiveness for a tourism destination's success suggests that there is a crucial need for sound benchmarking of countries’ competitive capabilities. The proposed competitiveness determinants aid the policymakers in identifying the best competitiveness and tourism performance predictors, as well as how to identify crucial factors affecting the rankings.

Tourism is thought-about because the world's largest trade and generator of jobs. This sectortakes many forms with demand met by facilities of differing scales and degree of sophistication.It also provides wide-ranging opportunities for foreign investors and native entrepreneurs. It isseen to bring inward investment, foreign exchange earnings and creation of small, medium andmicro businesses and Egypt has a vibrant entreprenurial population with strong potential forgrowth. Moreover, one of the key challenges is the importance of stimulating and supportingemerging tourism entrepreneurs, and of maximizing opportunities for the SMME sector. Thus,this research aims to determine the role of small businesses in the tourism industry and theircontribution to economic growth in Egypt. For this purpose, field researches conducted usingquestionnaires for Random sample of Installations Owners of Tourism and Hotels andinterviews with tourism and Economic experts. This research is based on an descriptive analyticapproach to achieve its goals.

There is a growing orthodoxy that since the global financial crisis European policy-makers and planning systems have become more dependent on inward investment and the availability of global finance to fund welfare services and projects. This process of financialisation, it is claimed, is driven by the needs of developers and investors, who are focused on maximising returns and limiting their social and economic liabilities. Planning agencies and traditional territory-based arrangements are viewed with increasing suspicion, as standing in the way of investment and acting as a brake on much needed house-building and regeneration. However, in this paper, drawing on detailed research with investors and developers in London, we argue that there needs to be a stronger focus in academic and policy writing on the multiple, variegated, and diverse calculations and framings that private sector actors take when making investment decisions. Too often their perspectives are caricatured and/or over-simplified. We show that perspectives and imaginations of planning and regulation are more complex and that many firms have realised that market success results from becoming more deeply embedded in the local political, social, and regulatory environments in which they are investing. A greater understanding of these multiple forms of calculation, in turn, opens up opportunities for the maintenance and/or implementation of more effective forms of territorially-based soft and hard regulation. The paper concludes by outlining a broader research agenda for planning and urban studies.

This paper investigates the evolution of foreign investment in the immediate aftermath of the implementation of COVID-19 government stringency measures. The average stringency index is not correlated with inward investment positions. However, after removing country fixed-effect and controlling for the severity of the outbreak spread, the within-country standard deviation of the stringency index is positively and significantly correlated with inward portfolio investments, at the end of the first quarter of 2020. At the end of the second quarter, the same dispersion measure is instead not associated with a significant change in inward investment. We interpret this evidence as follows. Foreign portfolio investments, typically more volatile and reactive than foreign direct ones, are more responsive, at the end of the first quarter, to governments’ prompt interventions than to gradual ones, thus suggesting that the former policies are perceived as a more serious commitment to stem the spread of COVID-19. In the second quarter, instead, the standard deviation of the index captures the abrupt retreat of the containment measures, together with the timely adoption of policies, thus becoming less informative for foreign investors.

The transitional process happening in higher educational institutions tend to underscore initiatives aimed at positioning these institutions as hubs of knowledge production and transfers capable of influencing regional development. Nonetheless, the literature has failed to capture the extent to which these institutions have embraced their third mission of impacting regional development, thus calling for a broader range of approaches in examining the roles of these institutions. To fill this gap, this study evaluates the various ways higher educational institutions have embraced their third mission of contributing to the development management activities of regions. We sourced data from 164 higher education institutions (HEIs) located across the United Kingdom, employing the propensity score matching estimation model to estimate the average treatment effects (ATE) of various interventions. The results demonstrate additionality effects of HEIs on graduate support, attracting inward investment, R&D collaborations and network facilitation. Surprisingly, our results show HEIs as playing an insignificant role in supporting SMEs, and knowledge exchanges. The main implication of this is that adopting initiatives that proved successful in specific universities to other higher educational settings remains a challenge. Tato studie hodnotí různé způsoby, jak vysokoškolské instituce přijaly své třetí role přispívat k činnostem rozvoje regionů.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) interventions have evolved in the last sixty years based on the predominant orthodoxy in world political economy with a focus in recent decades on encouraging liberal market conditions to secure inward investment and capital flows. This has resulted in a dominant model of policy conditions and transfer, but with a debate about the contextual relevance. This paper uses an innovative approach to longitudinal research, called Dynamic Pattern Synthesis, to compare the economic performance of South American nations between 2000-2015. The results from using this method illustrates multifinality in the IMF outcome of encouraging foreign direct investment. A complex configuration of influences on this outcome are evidenced. Complexity theory is used to explain the results, with the continent defined as a complex system that does not respond to simple causal policy mechanisms, but rather displays different patterns of political and economic influence in the context of global market instability. Different foreign direct investment configurations result, and these illustrate that international monetary and policy interventions need to be contextual and cannot make simplistic and universal assumptions about policy problems and their mechanistic solutions.

This chapter describes the major techniques of inward investment control used by host states. Such techniques were at the forefront of the policy response to multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the 1970s, when levels of foreign investment in host states were reasonably high but economic nationalism and self-determination were influential. However, as economic globalization evolved, the cost of economic nationalism became too great to sustain, given the resulting loss of access to investment capital and the most modern productive technology. Increasingly, both developed and developing countries have turned away from the strict regulation of foreign investment and are permitting it on less stringent terms. Given the widespread adoption of privatization programmes, the range of industrial sectors reserved for public ownership has decreased. While reservations and controls over levels of foreign investment in privatized companies are a common feature, in many countries, the very purpose of privatization was to increase the overall level of inward foreign investment in the economy. Ultimately, the main prohibitions on foreign investment are to be found in sectors of the national economy relevant to national security. In recent years the number of such prohibitions has risen.

This chapter focuses on policies of investment liberalization and promotion, both at the host state and at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. In all cases, the aim has been to remove barriers to inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the belief that this will offer positive economic gains to states and to the global economy. However, the removal of host state controls cannot automatically guarantee adequate levels, or useful kinds, of inward investment. Nor will it guarantee an equitable international distribution of its benefits. Moreover, competition over investment incentives between states may create economic distortions between them, with little positive gain. The reduction of barriers to direct investment, and the use of investment incentives, stand to benefit multinational enterprises (MNEs), as they can establish operations over a wider geographical space and can enjoy reduced investment risks. Against this background, the major home states of MNEs have placed the reduction of barriers to FDI onto the agendas of regional and multilateral economic organizations, with some success.

This book is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary account of the techniques used to regulate multinational enterprises (MNEs) at the national, regional and multilateral levels. The book considers the effects of corporate self-regulation, and the impact of civil society and community groups upon the development of the legal order in this area. It has been thoroughly revised and updated for this third edition. The book is split into four parts. Part I deals with the conceptual basis for MNE regulation. It explains the growth of MNEs, their business and legal forms and the relationship between them and the effects of a globalized economy and society, now increasingly challenged by recently revived nationalist economic policies, upon the evolution of regulatory agendas in the field. Part II covers the main areas of economic regulation, including the limits of national and regional jurisdiction over MNE activities, controls over—and the liberalization of—entry and establishment, tax, company and competition law and the impact of intellectual property rights on technology diffusion and transfer. Part III introduces the social dimension of MNE regulation covering labour rights, human rights and environmental issues. Part IV deals with the contribution of international investment law to MNE regulation and to the control of investment risks, covering the main provisions found in international investment agreements, their interpretation by international tribunals and how concerns over these developments are leading to reform proposals.

British political leaders regularly speak of the importance of free trade. In doing so, they overstate the importance of trade with North-East Asia but understate that of inward investment, which is of greater importance to the UK than to any comparable economy. The rise in this has gone in tandem with how modern manufacturing has responded to globalisation through global value chains. Bilateral and regional free trade agreements need increasingly complex rules of origin to cover these, reducing their attraction to businesses. Although the UK’s preference is to negotiate new bilateral trade agreements, nonetheless, Japan has suggested that it could join the new trans-Pacific CPTPP regional trade agreement and that the EU and CPTPP could together negotiate a further agreement. This would be the world’s largest free trade area, covering more than 30% of global GDP. For Japan, the proposal seems to be defined primarily by its rivalry with China and Korea, but it is still an opportunity for the EU to enhance trade relations with the Pacific Rim and to project its values. But the EU should push for inclusion of Korea and Taiwan in the agreement to ensure maximum impact.

This paper contributes to scholarly knowledge and understanding of the way in which economic conditions and government policy affect foreign direct investment (FDI) location in the United Kingdom (UK) regions. It does so by exploring their impact on inbound services FDI location in a sample of one of the UK's core (South East England) and four non-core (West Midlands; Wales; Scotland and the North West) regions. Use is made of multiple regression techniques to analyse a set of official, longitudinal data gathered for the period from 1980 to 2015 as a means to this end. The findings offer new insights into the relative influence of the search for markets, efficiencies and strategic assets and government policy over the location of services FDI in all five regions. The resultant implications for future inward investment policy development after the UK leaves the EU are also considered, including the potential benefits of increasing policy variations from region to region.

The institutional landscape for promoting regions for foreign inward investment continues to evolve across all nations. In the UK the abandonment of regional development agencies has led to years of institutional flux and uncertainty. One nation in the UK, Wales has seen the most dramatic changes in structure. The Welsh Development Agency was arguably one of the most successful in the world but was abolished in 2006 and has seen no direct replacment. This paper carries out a qualitative investigation over a 6 year period analyzing stages in the process of promoting of region. The paper examines how the loss of a strong coordinating marketing agency, and an evolving multi‐agency approach creates problems. The paper also explores whether the framework of organisational fields developed in organisation theory might provide a means of understanding how the evolving multi‐agency approach to inward investment attraction can be highly problematic. The findings have implications applicable for any region promoting itself for inward investment.

PurposeWe investigate the impact of the strength of intellectual property (IP) institutions on Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI).Design/methodology/approachWe use two different measures of IP on a sample of 21 European countries in the period 2003–2015. Panel quantile methodology is applied to assess the relationship at several points of the conditional distribution of OFDI.FindingsWe provide novel and robust evidence revealing a highly negative relationship between OFDI and the strength of IP institutions in Europe. This relationship which is more pronounced in the median and upper-quantiles, bolsters the conventional theoretical expectation that high institutional distance between home and host countries is inversely related to OFDI. Equally important is the preliminary evidence of the non-linear impact of IP at the median and upper-quantiles as well as the impact of other controlling variables such as GDP, population, trade openness and unit labour costs on Chinese OFDI.Originality/valueThe ensuing theoretical implications are of great significance for future studies on the institutional distance and drivers of OFDI by emerging economies as well as for European policymakers in so far as the strengthening of IP institutions constitutes a gravitational point for inward investment flows from China.

The post-2008 slowdown in economic convergence by countries of east central Europe towards the level of western Europe is interpreted with the help of a concept of dependent capitalism. Convergence appeared to be rapid up to that year, but then stalled, albeit with differing results depending on the measure used. Dependent capitalism meant that the driver for economic growth comes from inward investment by multinational companies (MNCs). Domestically owned businesses failed when faced with international competition, and their agenda hampers policies supporting an active role from the state. Inward investment is attracted by low wages and has contributed to substantial growth, but the slowdown in investment was accompanied by much slower economic growth and dangers that past investment could turn into a burden on the external balance. The strategies pursued by incoming MNCs have brought areas of upgrading, but frequently leave technological levels somewhat behind those of western Europe. Even where they use the same technologies as in their home countries, wages still remain significantly lower. Achieving full convergence would require a different growth model following a substantial change in economic policies: this does not appear likely in the near future.

International audience; State investment incentives are detrimental to the quality of the business environment and create unequal starting conditions for entrepreneurs to implement investment plans. In some cases, however, it is necessary to regulate the allocation of inward investment to regions within one country and thus decrease the disparities. Investment incentives are instruments that in general might violate market principles and thus are regulated within the EU internal market. Despite being aware of this fact most economists and politicians advocate these kinds of measures as necessary and relatively cheap in order to push the economy forward or win international big private equity investments. Investment aid is regional aid to stimulate investment in disadvantaged regions and to create new jobs in the Slovak Republic. Beneficiaries of this assistance may be natural and legal persons authorized to carry on business in the territory of the Slovak Republic and whose investment activities and projects meet the conditions of Act no. 561/2007 Z.z. on Investment Assistance and on Amendments to Certain Acts. This paper will focus on how investment incentive attracts foreign investment in the Slovak Republic and based on the data from 2002 to 2017 we will analyze their effectiveness on the created jobs. Despite the possible support from the Slovak government not all foreign investors areapplying for investment incentives, either are in contact with the government during their investment phase.

Summary We explore the likely effect of Brexit on inward foreign direct investment (FDI) through its possible effect on the benchmark variables that characterize the macroeconomy. For this we propose the use of a Markov regime switching structural vector auto-regression to distinguish between the volatile and stable states of the economy and account, among other effects, for the contemporaneous effects that the frequency of FDI innately generates. Our findings suggest that, if Brexit triggers a sterling depreciation in the current economic climate, this will fuel a prolonged negative effect on FDI. FDI flows may be positively affected (at most) by a sterling depreciation after Brexit only if this event drives the UK economy to a period of highly volatile growth, inflation, interest and exchange rates: a scenario that is rather unlikely. And, even then, the sterling depreciation benefits would last for only a short period of time.

Taking real advantage of Europe’s excellence to improve citizens’ lives presents challenges that Europe’s policymakers have not yet fully met. The European Union and Member States have shown some clarity of assessment in recognising the needs, and some laudable determination to improve the situation, and it has intermittently taken some real steps to deliver on its ambitions to turn its excellence into valuable innovations for the benefit of citizens. But as we move towards the third decade of the 21st century, Europe still faces some harsh choices about whether it is actually going to do what it has so often discussed to allow the EU to be a center for health innovation. The EU has to make some firm decisions about what deserves support - and where. It must turn words into deeds about promoting effective links between investment that will facilitate inward investment to the EU. That requires a sharper focus about developing and retaining the right skill sets in Europe, about funding innovation, about creating an encouraging regulatory environment, and about building greater public understanding and engagement. The framework document represents a mission oriented approach to integrating personalised medicine and personalised healthcare in Europe.

Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) trigger investment through their commitment to a liberal market economy. Increasingly however, PTAs go far beyond liberalizing trade and investment flows. Especially controversial features included in most modern PTAs are environmental and labor standards. Do these standards affect business activity? If so, how do investors react to such non-trade issues in trade deals? The literature provides inconclusive findings about the impact of standards on foreign direct investment (FDI). Some contributors argue that strict standards decrease FDI, whilst others claim that environmental and labor protection increases productivity and, in consequence, inward investment. In all likelihood, the usage of aggregated FDI data, as is the case for most studies, causes confusion. I expect standards to influence investors’ decisions – but heterogeneously across sectors. Environmental and labor standards should reduce FDI in polluting and low-skilled labor endowed industries, but increase investment in environmentally clean and high-skilled labor abundant sectors. Based on an original dataset of environmental and social standards in trade agreements and at the sector-level disaggregated US-FDI data, I find robust support for my argument. The paper provides a more nuanced picture on the standards and investment nexus: Standards have no uniform effect on multinationals. Instead, they are good for some, but bad for other industries.

Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are small and remote island economies highly reliant on fossil fuels. Although they are mainly self-governing nations, they are highly vulnerable to exogenous events such as global fuel price volatility and tropical cyclones. The work presented here targets 12 PSIDS located in the South Pacific. The analysis takes a functional approach to assess the state of the energy governance system and to determine its relationship to renewable energy (RE) penetration. Using a suite of governance, market and financial progress indicators, a range of RE preparedness levels was identified in PSIDS. Analysis demonstrated that strengthening of RE enabling indicators led to only a limited increase of RE penetration; consequently, the region has fallen behind global rates of RE uptake. Inward investment by development partners for RE demonstration projects failed to be upscaled by government-facilitated private sector. The focus on mitigating global climate change has failed to put RE into a local context; this contrasts to the strong “sense of place” and spiritual-nature of traditional Pacific communities. Thus, in energy terms, PSIDS are yet to attain a self-defined energy identity.

In 1996 the South Korean conglomerate LG announced a £1.67 billion investment in Wales to manufacture consumer electronics and semiconductors. The project was to be Europe’s largest inward investment project and LG was offered the UK Government’s most generous grants. However, the semiconductor plant was built but never entered production while the consumer electronics facility closed in stages up to 2006. This article responds to calls for a ‘new business history’ by using the ill-fated investment as a case study of business failure, arguing that narrow firm-specific factors do not fully explain LG’s failure in Wales. The article finds instead that analysis of distorted institutional environments in South Korea and Wales, linked to rentseeking behaviour by LG, provides a fuller answer.