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Do Remittances Attract Foreign Direct Investment? An Empirical Investigation

Author

Listed:
  • Basnet Hem C.

    (Chadron State College, Chadron, NE 69337, USA)

  • Upadhyaya Kamal P.

    (Department of Economics, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT 06516, USA)

Abstract

Remittances are a major source of household income in many Asian, African, and Latin American countries. Households spend a significant portion of remittances on health and education. Given that human capital is one of the primary determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, this study develops a model in which remittances are one of several determinants of the observed variation in FDI. The model is estimated using data from a group of 35 middle-income countries from Latin America, Asia–Pacific, and Africa. The estimated results ascribe no significance to remittances in explaining cross-country variation in FDI. However, geographically-disaggregated estimated results do establish a positive effect for African countries, no significant effect for Latin American countries, and a negative effect for the Asia–Pacific region.

Suggested Citation

  • Basnet Hem C. & Upadhyaya Kamal P., 2014. "Do Remittances Attract Foreign Direct Investment? An Empirical Investigation," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:glecon:v:14:y:2014:i:1:p:9:n:5
    DOI: 10.1515/gej-2013-0052
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Coon Michael & Neumann Rebecca, 2017. "Follow the Money: Remittance Responses to FDI Inflows," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 8(2), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Iordache Mihaela & Matei Mihaela & Țiţan Emilia, 2023. "Global Connections: Examining the Role of Remittances in Economic development," Journal of Social and Economic Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 12(2), pages 53-71, December.
    4. Valentina VASILE & Daniel ŞTEFAN & Călin-Adrian COMES & Elena BUNDUCHI & Anamari-Beatrice ŞTEFAN, 2020. "FDI or Remittances for Sustainable External Financial Inflows. Theoretical Delimitations and Practical Evidence using Granger Causality," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(4), pages 131-153, December.
    5. Anindya Biswas & Biswajit Mandal & Nitesh Saha, 2014. "Foreign Capital Inflow and Real Exchange Rate Appreciation in Developing Economies: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(03n04), pages 453-465, October.
    6. Kechagia, Polyxeni & Metaxas, Theodore, 2016. "FDI in Latin America: The case of Peru," MPRA Paper 72399, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Metaxas, Theodore & Kechagia, Polyxeni, 2015. "FDI in Peru and Uzbekistan: A comparative analysis in brief," MPRA Paper 63849, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Aamir Javed & Agnese Rapposelli & Festus Fatai Adedoyin & Zavish Arshad, 2025. "Examining the Role of Remittances, Technological Innovation, and Foreign Direct Investment on Environmental Quality in Pakistan: Fresh Evidence from a Novel Dynamic ARDL Simulation Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 123-151, August.
    9. Cornelia Serena, PASCA, 2016. "Monetary Remittance - Romania Case Study," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 1(3), pages 50-59.
    10. Lim, Sokchea & Basnet, Hem C., 2017. "International Migration, Workers’ Remittances and Permanent Income Hypothesis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 438-450.
    11. Siti Mas’udah, 2020. "Remittances and Lifestyle Changes Among Indonesian Overseas Migrant Workers’ Families in Their Hometowns," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 649-665, June.
    12. Pham Dinh Long & Nguyen Van Duc, 2017. "Impacts of remittances on foreign direct investment in South East Asia - An empirical investigation," HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE - ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY, vol. 7(2), pages 75-81.

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