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Where do foreign firms locate in France and why?

Author

Listed:
  • Mayer, Thierry

    (University of Paris Sud)

Abstract

This paper studies the determinants of individual location choices of manufacturing production units by foreign affiliates. It concentrates on the specific case of FDI location in France over the period from 1985 to 1995 and evaluates, in particular, how regional policies in favour of French regions by both national and EU authorities compare to other determinants of the location choice. It is shown that foreign investors are, to a large extent, not sensitive to public investment incentives, and are primarily driven by conventional forces such as the market potential, labour costs and agglomeration effects in the region considered for investment. Proximity to the home country of the investor also has a robust positive effect on location choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Mayer, Thierry, 2004. "Where do foreign firms locate in France and why?," EIB Papers 7/2004, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:eibpap:2004_007
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Martin, 2003. "Public Policies and Economic Geography," Post-Print hal-03416834, HAL.
    2. Crozet, Matthieu & Mayer, Thierry & Mucchielli, Jean-Louis, 2004. "How do firms agglomerate? A study of FDI in France," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 27-54, January.
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    6. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Lafourcade, Miren & Mayer, Thierry, 2003. "Can Business and Social Networks Explain the Border Effect Puzzle?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3750, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniele, Vittorio, 2007. "Criminalità e investimenti esteri. Un’analisi per le province italiane [The effect of organized crime on Foreign Investments. An Empirical Analysis for the Italian Provinces]," MPRA Paper 6417, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Pierre-André Buigues & Khalid Sekkat, 2011. "Public Subsidies to Business: An International Comparison," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Vittorio, Daniele & Ugo, Marani, 2008. "Organized Crime and Foreign Direct Investment: the Italian Case," MPRA Paper 7217, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Olivier Coussi, 2014. "Public management of foreign direct investment projects and territorial competitive intelligence [Management public de projets d'investissement direct étrangers et intelligence économique territori," Post-Print hal-01891501, HAL.
    5. Jana Nekolová & Jiøí Novosák, 2014. "Location of economic activities in the Ostrava metropolitan area (Czech Republic): focused on brownfield redevelopment," ERSA conference papers ersa14p919, European Regional Science Association.
    6. Filip De Beule & Dieter Somers & Haiyan Zhang, 2018. "Who Follows Whom? A Location Study of Chinese Private and State-Owned Companies in the European Union," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 43-84, February.
    7. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables, 2013. "Multinationals and industrial policy," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 29(2), pages 361-382, SUMMER.
    8. Comi, Simona & Grasseni, Mara & Resmini, Laura, 2021. "Can judicial efficiency improve territorial attractiveness to FDI? The Italian experience," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Anna D’Ambrosio & Sandro Montresor, 2022. "The pro-export effect of subnational migration networks: new evidence from Spanish provinces," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 158(1), pages 53-107, February.
    10. Daniele, Vittorio & Marani, Ugo, 2011. "Organized crime, the quality of local institutions and FDI in Italy: A panel data analysis," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 132-142, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign direct investment; industrial location; regional policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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