FDI Perspectives | Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment

Columbia FDI Perspectives is an occasional series of perspectives on important and topical foreign direct investment issues.

The Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment seeks to promote a robust and wide ranging exchange of perspectives in the FDI area. Accordingly, the opinions expressed by individual authors through the Columbia FDI Perspectives do not necessarily reﬂect the opinions of Columbia University or its partners and supporters.

If you would like to contribute to the Columbia FDI Perspectives, see details here.

Editor-in-Chief: Karl P. Sauvant (Karl.Sauvant@law.columbia.edu)

Managing Editor: Jennifer Reimer (jreimer01@gmail.com)

No. 68: "Economic patriotism: Dealing with Chinese direct investment in the United States ," by Sophie Meunier et al..
As Chinese FDI in the United States increases, a few investments are likely to attract negative attention. However, even though hosting Chinese FDI in the United States is not free from risk, the benefits outweigh the costs. As such, the United States should implement policy recommendations to welcome Chinese FDI, while dealing with its potential risks to limit a possible political backlash. 中文版
No. 67: "The Arab Spring: How soon will foreign investors return?," by Paul Antony Barbour, Persephone Economou, Nathan M. Jensen, and Daniel Villar.
The Arab Spring dramatically increased investors’ perceptions of political risk in MENA. An examination of these perceptions indicates long-run optimism that political transitions in the region -- if democratic and coupled with political stability -- could increase FDI and contribute to MENA’s economic development. 中文版
No. 66: "Does it matter who invests in your country?," by Kalman Kalotay.
Coming soon...
No. 65: "The standing of state-controlled entities under the ICSID Convention: Two key considerations," by Mark Feldman.
ICSID tribunals likely will need to address with greater frequency the fundamental issue of whether disputes arising from SCE investments fall within the scope of the ICSID Convention. To help preserve clear ICSID Convention boundaries -- which exclude public foreign investment disputes between states -- ICSID tribunals should consider not only the nature, but also the purpose, of SCE investments. 中文版
No. 64: "State-controlled entities control nearly US$ 2 trillion in foreign assets," by Karl P. Sauvant and Jonathan Strauss.
State-controlled entities (SCEs) -- especially state-owned enterprises (SOEs) -- are important players in the world FDI market. Among the 100 largest MNEs from developed countries and the 100 largest from emerging markets, at least 49 are SOEs. They control nearly US$ 2 trillion in foreign assets, the bulk of them by MNEs headquartered in developed countries. Care needs to be exercised that regulatory initiatives regarding SCEs do not lead to a fragmentation of the international investment law regime. 中文版
No. 63: "Is Chinese FDI pushing Latin America into natural resources?," by Miguel Pérez Ludeña.
Chinese direct investments in Latin America reached US$15 billion in 2010, 90% of which was in the extractive industries. An analysis of the figures shows that it is mainly through trade, rather than through FDI that China is influencing South America's productive structure. Moreover, there is potential for Chinese FDI to diversify into other sectors, especially in infrastructure construction and manufacturing for the Brazilian market. 中文版
No. 62: "The unbalanced dragon: China’s uneven provincial and regional FDI performance," by Karl P. Sauvant, Chen Zhao and Xiaoying Huo.
This Perspective ranks all Chinese provinces in terms of their performance in attracting foreign direct investment, examines the reasons for the high unevenness of this performance and makes some policy suggestions on how to deal with it. 中文版
No. 61: "Different investment treaties, different effects," by Clint Peinhardt and Todd Allee.
Until recently, quantitative assessments of International Investment Agreements (IIAs) have tended to treat them as interchangeable. Such assessments assume that the only measure of investor protections encoded in IIAs is whether a treaty had been signed and/or entered into force. However, the actual investment effects of investment treaties depend greatly on context. 中文版
No. 60: "National companies or foreign affiliates: Whose contribution to growth is greater?," by Alice H. Amsden.
National firms fulfill functions that foreign affiliates are less likely to undertake. For this reason, there is a growth/efficiency justification for government programs designed to support and promote national companies (public and private) as opposed to, and in competition with, opening the doors to MNEs. 中文版
No. 59: "The (lack of) women arbitrators in investment treaty arbitration," by Gus Van Harten.
Investment treaty arbitration appears to be a boy’s club. Just 4% of individuals appointed as arbitrators in known cases to May 2010 were women. This casts doubt on the system’s ad hoc and partly-privatized appointments process. A roster-based model would enable a more deliberative and merit-based process of appointments and ensure public accountability and independence in the system. 中文版
No. 58: "The public law challenge: Killing or rethinking international investment law?," by Stephan W. Schill.
The current legitimacy crisis of international investment law results primarily from the friction investor-state arbitration creates with domestic public law values. As a response, arbitrators should enculturate public law thinking. They should draw on comparative public law when applying investment treaties and reconsider their role as public law adjudicators with concomitant responsibilities for the entire system of international investment protection. 中文版
No. 57: "Nation states and nationality of MNEs," by Seev Hirsch.
Do nation states have an economic interest in becoming home countries to MNEs? This Perspective's tentative answer to the questions is “yes.” Other things being equal, extension of global reach, achieved through outgoing foreign direct investment by home country enterprises, is likely to more than make up for the tax losses and diminution of sovereignty these countries may experience. גרסה עברית 中文版
No. 56: "Towards the successful implementation of the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises," by Tadahiro Asami.
Manfred Schekulin and John Evans have each written Perspectives discussing the 2011 update to the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The Guidelines have several potential impacts, including impacts on MNEs’ interactions with their supply chains. Further, to be successful, it is important that the Guidelines are incorporated into MNEs’ codes of conduct. It is also essential for emerging markets to adhere to the Guidelines. 中文版
No. 55: "FDI stocks are a biased measure of MNE affiliate activity: A response," by Mira Wilkins.
The term FDI is often used loosely. This Perspective explains the historical genesis of that loose use and the relationship between FDI and MNEs. FDI stock is one of many measures of MNE activities, but has advantage over the others, since we have long, albeit imperfect, series on FDI stock. Handled with care, along with a keen recognition of the data limitations, FDI continues to serve as one excellent indicator of MNE activities. 中文版
No. 54: "Investment incentives and the global competition for capital," by Kenneth P. Thomas.
Investment incentives (subsidies designed to affect the location of investment) are a pervasive feature of global competition for foreign direct investment. This Perspective analyzes what is known about the extent and cost of incentives used as well as the potential efficiency, equity, and environmental consequences of using incentives. Finally, it analyzes methods of controlling incentives, the most successful of which is embodied in European Union regional aid policy. 中文版
No. 53: "Knowledge, FDI and catching-up strategies ," by Francisco Sercovich.
There are policies that drive catching-up industrialization other than, but related to, those focused on FDI inflows. The shortening of catching-up periods owes much to the increasing effectiveness of policies addressing education and training, entrepreneurship development and domestic innovation and technology diffusion. FDI inflows work best when those policies are in place. Domestic absorption and innovative capability development policies are also essential. 中文版
No. 52: "FDI in retailing and inflation: The case of India," by Nandita Dasgupta.
India’s food price inflation is a major driving factor behind the country’s overall accelerating inflation. As demonstrated by experiences of other countries, the recent move of the Indian Government to allow FDI in multi-brand retailing is a step in the right direction, transforming the way perishable agricultural produce is acquired, stored, preserved, and marketed -- and thus helping to control India’s persistent food inflation. 中文版
No. 51: "Greek FDI in the Balkans: How is it affected by the crisis in Greece?," by Persephone Economou and Margo Thomas.
Greece accounts for only 6% of the Balkan countries’ combined inward FDI stock, but Greek banking presence in the Balkans is significant. The sovereign debt crisis and recession in Greece are having a negative effect on Greek FDI into the Balkans, but it is the reduced lending by Greek bank foreign affiliates or their possible withdrawal that will have a bigger impact on the local economies. 中文版
No. 50: "Responsible business conduct: Re-shaping global business," by John Evans .
The Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) were updated in 2011. Trade unions are calling on the OECD and the 42 adhering governments to ensure that the new Guidelines help close the global governance gaps that leave millions of workers around the world facing hardship and insecurity and denied access to their fundamental rights. 中文版
No. 49: "Chinese FDI in the United States is taking off: How to maximize its benefits?," by Thilo Hanemann and Daniel H. Rosen.
China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) grew rapidly in the past decade, but flows to developed economies have been limited. Now China’s direct investment flows to the United States are poised to rise substantially. This new trend offers tremendous opportunities for the U. S., provided policymakers take steps to keep the investment environment open and utilize China’s new interest productively. 中文版