FDI and the Subprime Crisis: An Analysis for Asian and Latin American Countries

In recent decades, the inflows and stocks of foreign direct investment (FDI) have been heading increasingly towards developing countries intensifying the dynamics of international business. However, in 2008 the international financial crisis hit the world economy, decreasing FDI levels on a global scale. In this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the international financial crisis on FDI in Asian and Latin American countries, and to accomplish that, an analytical model was estimated by using dynamic panel procedures. Among the results, it was observed that the 2008 crisis had a negative impact on the multinational companies affecting the FDI stocks in the countries under consideration. However, the impact on the two regions differed, as the reduction in FDI stocks in Asia was greater than that in Latin American countries. In addition, the extension of the crisis, after 2008, was favorable to the growth of FDI in both regions.