Beyond EU-US Trade Dynamics: TTIP Effects Related to Foreign Direct Investment and Innovation

The international economic debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has focused mainly on trade induced real income gains while the FDI related and innovation induced benefits have been largely neglected, although the EU and the US are leading FDI host countries and FDI source countries. Moreover, from a theoretical perspective a knowledge production function has to be considered in order to analyze FDI and innovation dynamics - and this can then be linked to output and economic growth, respectively. The panel data estimation of knowledge production functions for 20 EU countries between 2002-2012 shows clear empirical evidence that a rise of the FDI stock-GDP ratio will raise patent applications. Additionally, a higher per capita income - that could reflect trade related real income gains in the context of TTIP - also contributes to more patent applications. Time series data analysis for Germany indicates additionally that FDI induced higher innovation dynamics will raise output. Combining trade benefits and FDI/innovation related real income gains plus transatlantic macroeconomic interdependency effects a real income gain of nearly 2% should be expected for both Germany and the EU as a whole: considerably higher than what the official TTIP report for the European Commission has suggested. The approach developed has broad implications for deep regional integration (TPP, TTIP).