IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eut/journl/v22y2018i1p121.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Major Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the West African Economic and Monetary Region

Author

Listed:
  • Akinleye Simeon Oludiran

    (Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.)

  • Laleye Nicaise Abimbola

    (Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.)

Abstract

The main concern of this paper is to answer the question of the determinants of FDI inflows to West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The literature on FDI recognizes not only the existence of gaps between domestic savings and investment in most developing countries but also that FDI constitutes a cure capable to bring the latest technology and management know-how into these countries. The aim of this paper is to find the macroeconomic determinants of FDI in WAEMU (constituted of 8 countries namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo). To this end, an econometric model based on panel cointegration analysis for the period 1980-2010 was estimated. The results show that countries with high potential market size (GDP per capita), large trade openness and with more business friendly environment (low political risk) attract more FDI. The findings further show that: (i) infrastructure development is one of the most important determinants that attract FDI to the region; alongside the human capital, financial development, macroeconomic stability, exchange rate and political stability; (ii) not all the variables affect FDI the same way in the WAEMU region; (iii) there is a positive relationship between FDI and economic growth which implies that FDI stimulates economic growth; (iv) this study finds a positive relationship between FDI and macroeconomic stability (inflation) in WAEMU; (v) financial development needs to be improved to enable more gain from FDI. This suggests that the impact of FDI can be enhanced through financial development under a good environment that has to be provided in WAEMU.

Suggested Citation

  • Akinleye Simeon Oludiran & Laleye Nicaise Abimbola, 2018. "Major Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the West African Economic and Monetary Region," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 22(1), pages 121-162, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:eut:journl:v:22:y:2018:i:1:p:121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: ftp://80.66.179.253/eut/journl/20181-6.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muhammad Arshad Khan & Shujaat Ali Khan, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Pakistan: A Sectoral Analysis," PIDE-Working Papers 2011:67, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    2. Risikat Oladoyin S Dauda, 2008. "Trends, Behavioral Patterns and Growth Implications of Foreign Private Capital Flows in Nigeria," The IUP Journal of Financial Economics, IUP Publications, vol. 0(3), pages 29-40, September.
    3. Adugna Lemi & Sisay Asefa, 2003. "Foreign Direct Investment and Uncertainty: Empirical Evidence from Africa," The African Finance Journal, Africagrowth Institute, vol. 5(1), pages 36-67.
    4. Balasubramanyam, V N & Salisu, M & Sapsford, David, 1996. "Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in EP and IS Countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(434), pages 92-105, January.
    5. Campos, Nauro F. & Kinoshita, Yuko, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment and Structural Reforms: Evidence from Eastern Europe and Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 3332, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Fernández-Arias, Eduardo & Hausmann, Ricardo, 2000. "Is FDI a Safer Form of Financing?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 1318, Inter-American Development Bank.
    7. C. Bellak & M. Leibrecht & R. Stehrer, 2010. "The role of public policy in closing foreign direct investment gaps: an empirical analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 19-46, February.
    8. repec:bla:devpol:v:22:y:2004:i:1:p:41-48 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Assaf Razin & Efraim Sadka & Tarek Coury, 2002. "Trade Openness and Investment Instability," NBER Working Papers 8827, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. James R. MARKUSEN, 2021. "Multinationals, Multi-Plant Economies, And The Gains From Trade," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 1, pages 3-24, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Dees, Stephane, 1998. "Foreign Direct Investment in China: Determinants and Effects," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 31(2-3), pages 175-194.
    12. Noorbakhsh, Farhad & Paloni, Alberto & Youssef, Ali, 2001. "Human Capital and FDI Inflows to Developing Countries: New Empirical Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(9), pages 1593-1610, September.
    13. SAIBU, Olufemi Muibi & FAKANBI, KEHINDE Ernest & AGBOOLA, Olawode Wasiu, 2011. "Political dispensation and macroeconomic performance in Nigeria (1970-2009)," MPRA Paper 34821, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Eduardo Fernández-Arias & Ricardo Hausmann, 2000. "Is FDI a Safer Form of Financing?," Research Department Publications 4201, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    15. James R. Markusen & Keith E. Maskus, 2002. "Discriminating Among Alternative Theories of the Multinational Enterprise," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 694-707, November.
    16. Elizabeth Asiedu, 2006. "Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: The Role of Natural Resources, Market Size, Government Policy, Institutions and Political Instability," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 63-77, January.
    17. S. Lael Brainard, 1993. "A Simple Theory of Multinational Corporations and Trade with a Trade-Off Between Proximity and Concentration," NBER Working Papers 4269, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Kao, Chihwa, 1999. "Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 1-44, May.
    19. David W Loree & Stephen E Guisinger, 1995. "Policy and Non-Policy Determinants of U.S. Equity Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(2), pages 281-299, June.
    20. Khalid Sekkat & Marie‐Ange Veganzones‐Varoudakis, 2007. "Openness, Investment Climate, and FDI in Developing Countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(4), pages 607-620, November.
    21. Kinda, Tidiane, 2010. "Investment Climate and FDI in Developing Countries: Firm-Level Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 498-513, April.
    22. Kenneth A. Froot, 1991. "Japanese Foreign Direct Investment," NBER Working Papers 3737, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Alsan, Marcella & Bloom, David E. & Canning, David, 2006. "The effect of population health on foreign direct investment inflows to low- and middle-income countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 613-630, April.
    24. Morisset, Jacques, 2000. "Foreign direct investment in Africa : policies also matter," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2481, The World Bank.
    25. Niels Hermes & Robert Lensink, 2003. "Foreign direct investment, financial development and economic growth," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 142-163.
    26. repec:bla:obuest:v:61:y:1999:i:0:p:631-52 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Jamuna Agarwal, 1980. "Determinants of foreign direct investment: A survey," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 116(4), pages 739-773, December.
    28. Ronald Findlay, 1978. "Relative Backwardness, Direct Foreign Investment, and the Transfer of Technology: A Simple Dynamic Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 92(1), pages 1-16.
    29. Razin, Assaf & Sadka, Efraim & Coury, Tarek, 2003. "Trade openness, investment instability and terms-of-trade volatility," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 285-306, December.
    30. Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb & Kaliappa Kalirajan, 2010. "Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis," ASARC Working Papers 2010-13, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    31. John H Dunning, 1980. "Towards an Eclectic Theory of International Production: Some Empirical Tests," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 11(1), pages 9-31, March.
    32. Baek, In-Mee & Okawa, Tamami, 2001. "Foreign exchange rates and Japanese foreign direct investment in Asia," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 69-84.
    33. repec:bla:kyklos:v:54:y:2001:i:1:p:89-113 is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb & Kaliappa Kalirajan, 2010. "Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 4(4), pages 369-404, November.
    35. William Easterly, 2003. "Can Foreign Aid Buy Growth?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 23-48, Summer.
    36. G. S. Maddala & Shaowen Wu, 1999. "A Comparative Study of Unit Root Tests with Panel Data and a New Simple Test," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(S1), pages 631-652, November.
    37. Reiter, S.L. & Steensma, H. Kevin, 2010. "Human Development and Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: The Influence of FDI Policy and Corruption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1678-1691, December.
    38. Imad A. Moosa, 2002. "Foreign Direct Investment," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-4039-0749-3, December.
    39. World Bank, 2010. "World Development Indicators 2010," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 4373.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Johnson Adelakun & Kanayo Ogujiuba, 2023. "A Comparative Analysis of the Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment: The Case of Top Ten Recipients of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Khamis Hamad Ali & Suleiman Malik Faki & Salim Hamad Suleiman, 2018. "Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows in Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member Countries," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 2(4), pages 616-623.

    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. John Anyanwu, 2011. "Working Paper 136 - Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to Africa, 1980-2007," Working Paper Series 327, African Development Bank.
    2. John C. Anyanwu, 2012. "Why Does Foreign Direct Investment Go Where It Goes?: New Evidence From African Countries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 13(2), pages 425-462, November.
    3. Zaneta Kubik, 2023. "The role of agricultural sector performance in attracting foreign direct investment in the food and beverages sector. Evidence from planned investments in Africa," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 875-903, July.
    4. Tafadzwa Matiza & Sandra Perks, 2017. "Human Capital Reputation as an Antecedent of Foreign Direct Investment Market Entry in Zimbabwe," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 9(5), pages 185-199.
    5. Asafo-Agyei, George & Kodongo, Odongo, 2022. "Foreign direct investment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A nonlinear analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    6. Okafor, Godwin & Piesse, Jenifer & Webster, Allan, 2015. "The motives for inward FDI into Sub-Saharan African countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 875-890.
    7. Simplice A. Asongu & Joseph Nnanna & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2020. "Finance, Institutions and Private Investment in Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 20/080, African Governance and Development Institute..
    8. Olawumi D Awolusi & Theuns G Pelser & Adedeji Saidi Adelekan, 2016. "Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment: New Granger Causality Evidence from Asian and African Economies," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 8(1), pages 104-119.
    9. Hong Hiep Hoang & Cong Minh Huynh & Nguyen Minh Huy Duong & Ngoc Hoe Chau, 2022. "Determinants of foreign direct investment in Southern Central Coast of Vietnam: a spatial econometric analysis," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 285-310, February.
    10. Yapatake Kossele Thales Pacific, 2015. "Foreign Direct Investment in Anglophone and Francophone African Countries," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 5(11), pages 337-350, November.
    11. repec:wsr:wpaper:y:2011:i:076 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Paul, Justin & Feliciano-Cestero, María M., 2021. "Five decades of research on foreign direct investment by MNEs: An overview and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 800-812.
    13. Igan, Deniz & Kutan, Ali M. & Mirzaei, Ali, 2020. "The real effects of capital inflows in emerging markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. Grekou, Carl & Owoundi, Ferdinand, 2020. "Understanding how foreign direct investment inflows impact urbanization in Africa," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 48-68.
    15. Antonakakis, Nikolaos & Tondl, Gabriele, 2012. "Do determinants of FDI to developing countries differ among OECD investors? Insights from Bayesian model averaging," Discussion Papers 1/12, Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, Institute for European Integration.
    16. Safia Shabbir, 2012. ": Balance Sheet Channel of Monetary Transmission in Pakistan: An Empirical Investigation," SBP Research Bulletin, State Bank of Pakistan, Research Department, vol. 8, pages 1-12.
    17. Konstantinos Dellis, 2018. "Financial development and FDI flows: evidence from advanced economies," Working Papers 254, Bank of Greece.
    18. Angelica E. Njuguna & Emmanuel Nnadozie, 2022. "Investment Climate and Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: The Role of Ease of Doing Business," Journal of African Trade, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 23-46, December.
    19. Shah, Mumtaz Hussain & Azam, Ayesha, 2018. "Financial Development and Investors Location Choice in The Arab World," MPRA Paper 107245, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Simplice Asongu & Enowbi Batuo & Vanessa Tchamyou, 2015. "Bundling Governance: Finance versus Institutions in Private Investment Promotion," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 15/051, African Governance and Development Institute..
    21. Rosa Forte, 2004. "The relationship between foreign direct investment and international trade. Substitution or complementarity? A survey," FEP Working Papers 140, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

    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:eut:journl:v:22:y:2018:i:1:p:121. 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: [z.rahimalipour] (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fecutir.html .

    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.