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Competition in Taxes and Performance Requirements for Foreign Direct Investment

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  • Ronald B. Davies

    (University of Oregon Economics Department)

  • Christopher J. Ellis

    (University of Oregon Economics Department)

Abstract

Tax incentives offered to attract firms engaged in foreign direct investment are often tied to performance requirements such as domestic content restrictions. The tax competition literature has repeatedly shown that competition between municipalities for mobile firms tends to drive taxes to low levels. One would expect a comparable result for burdensome performance requirements. Despite this, the evidence suggests that while taxes have indeed been driven down, performance requirements are as popular as ever. We explain this seeming conundrum by showing that in the presence of spillovers, binding performance requirements can act as a coordination device for firms. In equilibrium, municipalities choose performance requirements which maximize joint surplus from investment. Competition between municipalities then transfers this surplus to firms via tax subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ronald B. Davies & Christopher J. Ellis, 2001. "Competition in Taxes and Performance Requirements for Foreign Direct Investment," University of Oregon Economics Department Working Papers 2001-4, University of Oregon Economics Department, revised 01 Jun 2001.
    • Handle: RePEc:ore:uoecwp:2001-4
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Valeska Groenert & Myrna Wooders & Ben Zissimos, 2009. "Developing Country Second-Mover Advantage in Competition Over Standards and Taxes," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0909, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    2. Valeska Groenert & Ben Zissimos, 2013. "Developing Country Second-Mover Advantage in Competition Over Environmental Standards and Taxes," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 15(5), pages 700-728, October.
    3. Keun Lee & Di Qu & Zhuqing Mao, 2021. "Global Value Chains, Industrial Policy, and Industrial Upgrading: Automotive Sectors in Malaysia, Thailand, and China in Comparison with Korea," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(2), pages 275-303, April.
    4. Ronald B. Davies & Carsten Eckel, 2010. "Tax Competition for Heterogeneous Firms with Endogenous Entry," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 77-102, February.
    5. Davies, Ronald B., 2013. "The silver lining of red tape," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 68-76.
    6. Peter Egger & Horst Raff, 2015. "Tax rate and tax base competition for foreign direct investment," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(5), pages 777-810, October.
    7. Ronald B. Davies & Yutao Han & Kate Hynes & Yong Wang, 2020. "Competition in Taxes and IPR," Working Papers 202019, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    8. Valesca Groenert & Myrna Wooders & Ben Zissimos, 2008. "Competition over Standards and Taxes," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0820, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    9. Ronald B. Davies & Carsten Eckel, 2007. "Tax Competition for Heterogeneous Firms with Endogenous Entry:The Case of Heterogeneous Fixed Costs," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp213, IIIS.
    10. Auffhammer, Maximilian & Carson, Richard T. & Garin-Munoz, Teresa, 2004. "Forecasting China's Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A Provincial Approach," CUDARE Working Papers 25109, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    11. Ronald B. Davies, 2018. "From China with Love: The Role of FDI from Third Countries on EU Competition and R&D Activities," Working Papers 201813, School of Economics, University College Dublin.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign direct investment; tax competition; domestic content requirements;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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