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Phantom FDI: A Structural Gravity Analysis Using MREID

Author

Listed:
  • Saad Ahmad

    (United States International Trade Commission (USITC))

  • Jeffrey Bergstrand

    (University of Notre Dame)

  • Jordi Paniagua

    (University of Notre Dame. University of Valencia.)

  • Heather Wickramarachi

    (United States International Trade Commission (USITC))

Abstract

Foreign direct investment (FDI) measured by public sources includes investments made by firms for financial and accounting related (or nonproduction-based) rea- sons, typically concentrated in offshore financial centers (OFCs). Recent studies suggest that profit-shifting may also occur in non-OFC regions. Consequently, many datasets used to understand the economic factors behind a firm’s decision to shift production activities acoss countries may still contain such“phantom FDI.†Conse- quently, analytical methods have recently been developed to remove phantom FDI flows and improve the accuracy of FDI measures. In this paper, we apply a structural gravity approach to identify and measure phantom FDI using the new Multinational Revenue, Employment, and Investment Database (MREID). We use this approach to provide estimates of phantom FDI for numerous developed countries in our sam- ple. Our baseline results are then validated using an alternative production-function approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Saad Ahmad & Jeffrey Bergstrand & Jordi Paniagua & Heather Wickramarachi, 2026. "Phantom FDI: A Structural Gravity Analysis Using MREID," Working Papers 2607, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    • Handle: RePEc:eec:wpaper:2607
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    More about this item

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    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
    • F38 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Financial Policy: Financial Transactions Tax; Capital Controls

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