The Impact of Foreign Direct Investments Flows on Croatian Economy – A Comparative Analysis

The aim of this paper is to analyze and compare foreign investment trends in the countries of the last wave of accession to the European Union. The analysis is made on the basis of foreign direct investment and foreign debt flows in those countries for the period 1989-2006. The comparative analyses of both flows suggest that there was a wide difference in efficiency of those flows, which is partly explained by the character of foreign direct investment (Greenfield versus equity investments). The main conclusion of the paper is that regardless of the volume of inflows, the national investment policy might have considerable impact on the real growth of the economy.