• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.391-408
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• 2009

This study first designates the factors affecting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in order to analyze the FDI in Korea, and calculates the Korean FDI index by using various designated variables and by applying Factor Analysis Technique. In addition, it attempts to understand the influence wielded by the foreign investment variables of foreign multinationals on FDI in Korea, by setting to analyze & verify Environmental Factors and the overall model based on FDI in Korea. Through an emprical analysis of USA, Japan, EU, China, as our hypothesis, we could verify that the positive effects(+) among the decisive factors of FDI in Korea include the market size, the mean earning rate of domestic manufacturing industries, and the marketing capacities of foreign corporations, while the negative effects(-) include the ratio of taxation on domestic manufacturing industries. Other FDI factors have various effects on each, so some factors show the same effects as the hypothesis while others show separate effects. In addition, the only nation for which the effects of FDI factors in Korea coincide with the hypothesis completely is the USA, while other nations (such as Japan, EU, China) have some effects that conform to the hypothesis, but other effects do not accord with it.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.379-402
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant difference in impacts decomposed into scale effects and technique effects on $CO_2$ emissions between Greenfield FDI and M&A FDI flows into Korean manufacturing sectors, ultimately leading to clarify the relationship between FDI and environmental pollution. To this end, the research constructed a simultaneous model to analyze coincidental relationship of influence and interactions between each variable. Archival data, spanning the 15 years period from 1995 to 2009, is industry-level panel data on 13 Korean manufacturing sectors, and it is empirically analyzed with three-stage least squares (3SLS) method. Key findings can be summarized into two parts. First of all, Greenfield FDI has a greater impact on increasing industrial gross output, resulting in more $CO_2$ emissions than M&A FDI through scale effects. Secondly, technique effects of FDI have a bigger impact on $CO_2$ emissions than scale effects, implying that this inflow of FDI into Korea contributes positively to the reduction of $CO_2$ emissions. These findings are expected to play a meaningful role in establishing FDI policies with consideration of the environment by giving the implication that different incentives for each FDI type should be considered to maximize the effect of environmental protection.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.35-58
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• 2020

Purpose - This study examines the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) location choice for Chinese firms, focusing on the agglomeration effect for firms of the same nationality. Design/methodology - The empirical data are China's inward FDI from the top 19 economies (excluding tax havens and Taiwan) in terms of FDI during 1997-2015 and China's outward FDI from the top 18 economies (excluding tax havens). This study uses a random effects generalized least squares model for panel data analysis. Findings - The results confirm that both host countries' costs and market conditions and the degree of agglomeration affect these countries' attractiveness for FDI inflows. Specifically, agglomeration has a significant effect on China's inward and outward FDI. This study confirms that the agglomeration of firms of the same nationality has predictive power for multinational enterprises' FDI location choices. The host countries' real GDP and trade openness also positively affect FDI inflows. Interestingly, however, China's production cost has a positive effect. Thus, inward FDI aimed at entering the Chinese market is increasing in recent years relative to the previous efficiency-seeking FDI. Inward FDI in China is therefore the market-entry type, whereas outward FDI by Chinese firms is the market-oriented type. Originality/value - These results suggest that the effects of the potential determinants of Chinese outward FDI are similar to those of inward FDI as China's trade liberalization progresses.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.195-205
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• 2020

This study investigates the effects of financial development on the foreign direct investment (FDI) flow in host countries. Using bilateral FDI data from 34 OECD source countries to 146 host countries, we performed panel data analysis based on a gravity FDI equation. We hypothesized that the financial development would increase the volume of FDI flows. The results suggest that the well-functioning finance market of source countries as well as a better accessable financial market of host countries contribute to the increase in FDI of OECD in their partner countries. We found also that the financial development effects of source countries are larger than those of host countries. This result shows that the financial development can play a crucial role to impact the FDI inflows as push factor in source country than as a pull factor in host countries.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-70
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• 2015

This paper examines the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on South Asian economies' output growth, utilizing recent panel cointegration testing and estimation techniques. Annual panel data on eight SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member countries' macroeconomic variables over the period 1960- 2013 are employed in empirical analysis. Using various heterogeneous panel cointegration and panel causality tests, a bi-directional relationship between FDI and growth is found. We find evidence for both FDI-led growth and growth-induced FDI hypotheses for the South Asian economies over the sample period. Individual member countries exhibit heterogeneity in terms of the direction or existence of causality subject to their idiosyncratic economic conditions. Among various regressors, FDI, financial development, human capital, and government consumption show the most significant positive effects on output growth. As determinants of FDI, GDP, financial development, human capital, and government consumption are found significant in the region. The bi-directional causality between FDI and growth is found robust to the inclusion of other control variables and using different estimation techniques.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.205-225
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• 2012

I use panel data of sales by the foreign subsidiaries of the U.S. MNCs to examine whether trading blocs create more or less FDI and the impacts on FDI of the extended market size created by forming blocs. By employing a region-fixed effects model, I find that countries forming trading blocs attract more FDI, particularly from non-member countries, but that FDI does not always increase with the market size of the blocs. As the market size increases, FDI increases only for large blocs. However, these findings are sensitive to model specifications. A policy implication is that a country considering forming or joining a trading bloc with a view to attract FDI may want to form a trading bloc with a country or countries with a large market size.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.151-174
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• 2021

This paper empirically examines whether and how inward foreign direct investment (FDI) affected industrial productivity in Korea during the 2000-2016 period, based on dynamic panel data of inflow FDI on an arrival basis from 427 manufacturing industries. The paper adds to the literature by analyzing whether both technology spillovers and industrial restructuring from inward FDI can differ according to industrial characteristics such as capital intensity, imported intermediate inputs, and tariffs. The empirical results show that the overall effects of inward FDI on total factor productivity (TFP) were statistically insignificant in general. However, the positive effects of inward FDI on productivity became statistically significant for industries with lower tariffs. Capital intensity were not involved in the relationship between inward FDI and productivity. Thus, the paper highlights that the results in previous studies with inward FDI on a notification basis were overestimated and inward FDI policies in Korea should focus on channels such as trade liberalization and the redistribution of production factors rather than capital accumulation.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.41-52
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• 2021

Purpose: The study aims to analyze effects of wage on FDI inflows based on the threshold of institutional quality in 14 developing economies of Southeast and South Asia over the period from 2000-2017. Research design, data, and methodology: The study applies a fixed effect panel threshold regression. As a proxy for the institutional quality, it uses the six components of Worldwide Governance Indicators or a compound index obtained by an average of the six components. The data were taken from World Bank, the Chinn & Ito Database, and UNCTAD. To the best of our knowledge, no researches so far have considered the threshold of institutional quality in estimating the effect of wage on FDI inflows. Results: The composite index and each component of the six indicators of institutional quality except for voice and accountability, and regulatory quality are found to have nonlinear effects on FDI inflows. When the institutional quality is below the threshold, wage affects FDI inflows negatively. When the institutional quality is above the threshold, however, wage does not significantly affect FDI inflows. Conclusions: The effect of wage on FDI inflows varies depending on whether the institutional quality of the target countries is above or below the threshold.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.23-36
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• 2021

The study explores the nexus between foreign direct investment (FDI), financial innovation, and exchange rate volatility in selected South Asian countries for 1980 to 2017. The study applies the unit root test, Autoregressive Distributed Lagged, nonlinear ARDL, and causality test following Toda-Yamamoto. Unit root tests ascertain that variables are integrated in a mixed order; few variables are stationary at a level and few after the first difference. Empirical model estimation with ARDL, Long-run cointegration revealed with the tests of FPSS, WPSS, and tBDM by rejecting the null hypothesis of "no cointegration." This finding suggests that, in the long-run financial innovation, FDI inflows, and exchange rate volatility move together. Moreover, study findings established adverse effects running from FDI inflows and financial innovation to exchange rate volatility in the long run. These findings suggest that continual FDI inflows and innovativeness in the financial system assist in lessening the volatility in the foreign exchange market. Furthermore, nonlinear ARDL confirms the presence of asymmetric cointegration in the model. The standard Wald test established asymmetric effects running from FDI inflows and financial innovation to exchange rate volatility, both in the long and short run. Directional causality unveils feedback hypothesis holds for explaining causality between FDI, financial innovation, and exchange rate volatility.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.107-121
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• 2018

The purpose of this paper is to explore the determining factors of foreign direct investment(FDI) of Korea by using institutioanl theory. In addition, this study divides institutional facts into the formal and the informal institutions. The empirical test implements multiful regression analysis focuing on korean electronics and automotive industry. The dependent variables are FDI outflow and the independent ones are corruption, econimic freedom, political risk, human development, and culturan distance. According to the empirical results, corruptin and human development have positive effects on Korean FDI outflow. On the other hand, political risks and economic freedom have negative effects on Korean FDI outflow. This results indicate the importance of forman and informal institutional facotrs as determinants of Korean FDI outflow.