IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/poango/v10y2022i3p98-109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Narratives and the Legitimacy of Foreign Direct Investments

Author

Listed:
  • Lukas Linsi

    (Department of International Relations and International Organization, University of Groningen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

In the 1990s, the primary focus of the international investment regime shifted from the restriction and regulation towards the promotion and attraction of foreign companies. Dominant accounts in the international political economy literature emphasize the role of interests and institutions in explaining this policy shift but pay little attention to their legitimation. This article argues that transformations in dominant economic discourses—and in particular the rise of the competitiveness narrative—played an important role in granting legitimacy to this U-turn in international economic affairs. To test the argument, the article focuses on the impact of the differential changes in the portrayal of greenfield and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) inward foreign direct investments (IFDI) in economic discourses in the UK before and after the rise of the competitiveness narrative. In line with the theoretical argument, findings indicate that individuals who passed their early adulthood in a period in which the narrative of economic statism was still prevalent hold notably more skeptical views of M&A IFDI even though they are otherwise not more opposed to investments from abroad. A causal mediation analysis lends further empirical support to the argument.

Suggested Citation

  • Lukas Linsi, 2022. "Economic Narratives and the Legitimacy of Foreign Direct Investments," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(3), pages 98-109.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:10:y:2022:i:3:p:98-109
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/5284
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Imai, Kosuke & Keele, Luke & Tingley, Dustin & Yamamoto, Teppei, 2011. "Unpacking the Black Box of Causality: Learning about Causal Mechanisms from Experimental and Observational Studies," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(4), pages 765-789, November.
    2. repec:bla:glopol:v:8:y:2017:i::p:42-55 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Mayda, Anna Maria & Rodrik, Dani, 2005. "Why are some people (and countries) more protectionist than others?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 1393-1430, August.
    4. Jeffrey M. Chwieroth & Timothy J. Sinclair, 2013. "How you stand depends on how we see: International capital mobility as social fact," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 457-485, June.
    5. Pandya, Sonal S., 2010. "Labor Markets and the Demand for Foreign Direct Investment," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 64(3), pages 389-409, July.
    6. Dinas, Elias, 2014. "Why Does the Apple Fall Far from the Tree? How Early Political Socialization Prompts Parent-Child Dissimilarity," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(4), pages 827-852, October.
    7. Luc Fransen & Brian Burgoon & Luc Fransen & Brian Burgoon, 2017. "Support for Ethical Consumerism and Welfare States in the Global Economy: Complements or Substitutes?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(s3), pages 42-55, May.
    8. Liam Stanley, 2014. "'We're Reaping What We Sowed': Everyday Crisis Narratives and Acquiescence to the Age of Austerity," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(6), pages 895-917, December.
    9. Pinto,Pablo M., 2013. "Partisan Investment in the Global Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107617360.
    10. Pinto,Pablo M., 2013. "Partisan Investment in the Global Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107019102.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nguyen, Quynh & Malesky, Edmund, 2021. "Fish or steel? New evidence on the environment-economy trade-off in developing Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Jacque Gao, 2022. "Investment with insecure property rights: Capital outflow openness under dictatorship," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 569-595, July.
    3. Pablo M. Pinto & Stephen Weymouth, 2016. "Partisan Cycles in Offshore Outsourcing: Evidence from U.S. Imports," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 233-261, November.
    4. Chen, Ling, 2017. "Grounded Globalization: Foreign Capital and Local Bureaucrats in China’s Economic Transformation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 381-399.
    5. Ben Cormier & Mark S. Manger, 2022. "Power, ideas, and World Bank conditionality," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 397-425, July.
    6. Stephen B. Kaplan, 2014. "Political Economy of Macroeconomic Policymaking: Economic Crises and Technocratic Governance," Working Papers 2014-18, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    7. Amy Pond, 2018. "Protecting Property: The Politics of Redistribution, Expropriation, and Market Openness," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 181-210, July.
    8. João Albino-Pimentel & Jennifer Oetzel & Chang Hoon Oh & Nicholas A. Poggioli, 2021. "Positive institutional changes through peace: The relative effects of peace agreements and non-market capabilities on FDI," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(7), pages 1256-1278, September.
    9. Shouro Dasgupta, Shouro & De Cian, Enrica & Verdolini, Elena, 2016. "The Political Economy of Energy Innovation," MITP: Mitigation, Innovation and Transformation Pathways 234939, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    10. Liu, Ruiming & Kang, Yankun & Zhang, Jie, 2021. "Ideological taboos, entry barriers, and FDI attraction: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Sarah Bauerle Danzman & Alexander Slaski, 2022. "Incentivizing embedded investment: Evidence from patterns of foreign direct investment in Latin America," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 63-87, January.
    12. Layna Mosley & Victoria Paniagua & Erik Wibbels, 2020. "Moving markets? Government bond investors and microeconomic policy changes," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 197-249, July.
    13. Leslie Johns & Rachel L. Wellhausen, 2021. "The price of doing business: Why replaceable foreign firms get worse government treatment," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 209-243, July.
    14. Post, Alison E. & Murillo, María Victoria, 2016. "How Investor Portfolios Shape Regulatory Outcomes: Privatized Infrastructure After Crises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 328-345.
    15. Sera Linardi & Nita Rudra, 2015. "Globalization and Redistribution Towards the Poor in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from India," Artefactual Field Experiments 00399, The Field Experiments Website.
    16. Shouro Dasgupta & Enrica De Cian & Elena Verdolini, 2016. "The Political Economy of Energy Innovation," Working Papers 2016.35, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    17. Yoram Z. Haftel & Alexander Thompson, 2018. "When do states renegotiate investment agreements? The impact of arbitration," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 25-48, March.
    18. Doyle, Orla & Fidrmuc, Jan, 2006. "Who favors enlargement?: Determinants of support for EU membership in the candidate countries' referenda," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 520-543, June.
    19. Daniele, Gianmarco & Geys, Benny, 2012. "Public support for institutionalised solidarity: Europeans' reaction to the establishment of eurobonds," Discussion Papers, Research Professorship & Project "The Future of Fiscal Federalism" SP II 2012-112, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    20. Acharya, Avidit & Blackwell, Matthew & Sen, Maya, 2016. "Explaining Causal Findings Without Bias: Detecting and Assessing Direct Effects," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(3), pages 512-529, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:10:y:2022:i:3:p:98-109. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.