IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/jku/econwp/2007_16.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

How Important is Employment Protection Legislation for Foreign Direct Investment Flows in Central and Eastern European Countries?

Author

Listed:
  • Markus Leibrecht
  • Johann Scharler

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the importance of labor market conditions and in particular of employment protection legislation as a determinant of bilateral Foreign Direct Investment flows to seven Central and Eastern European countries. Although our results indicate that countries characterized by low unit labor costs tend to attract more Foreign Direct Investment, we find no evidence suggesting that employment protection legislation matters in this context. This result also holds if we control for the riskiness of the host countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Markus Leibrecht & Johann Scharler, 2007. "How Important is Employment Protection Legislation for Foreign Direct Investment Flows in Central and Eastern European Countries?," Economics working papers 2007-16, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    • Handle: RePEc:jku:econwp:2007_16
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econ.jku.at/papers/2007/wp0716.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Egger & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2004. "Foreign Direct Investment and European Integration in the 1990s," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 99-110, January.
    2. Agnès Bénassy‐Quéré & Maylis Coupet & Thierry Mayer, 2007. "Institutional Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 764-782, May.
    3. Liu, Zhiqiang, 2002. "Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillover: Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 579-602, September.
    4. Egger, Peter & Winner, Hannes, 2005. "Evidence on corruption as an incentive for foreign direct investment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 932-952, December.
    5. Egger, Peter, 2004. "On the Problem of Endogenous Unobserved Effects in the Estimation of Gravity Models," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 19, pages 182-191.
    6. Beata Smarzynska Javorcik & Mariana Spatareanu, 2005. "Do Foreign Investors Care about Labor Market Regulations?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(3), pages 375-403, October.
    7. Gross, Dominique M. & Ryan, Michael, 2008. "FDI location and size: Does employment protection legislation matter?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 590-605, November.
    8. Carstensen, Kai & Toubal, Farid, 2004. "Foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern European countries: a dynamic panel analysis," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 3-22, March.
    9. Tito Boeri & Katherine Terrell, 2002. "Institutional Determinants of Labor Reallocation in Transition," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 51-76, Winter.
    10. Demekas, Dimitri G. & Horvath, Balazs & Ribakova, Elina & Wu, Yi, 2007. "Foreign direct investment in European transition economies--The role of policies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 369-386, June.
    11. Jan I. Haaland & Ian Wooton & Giulia Faggio, 2002. "Multinational Firms: Easy Come, Easy Go?," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 59(1), pages 3-26, February.
    12. Wolfgang Ochel, 2005. "Concepts and Measurement of Labour Market Institutions," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 3(4), pages 40-55, 01.
    13. James R. Markusen & Anthony J. Venables, 2021. "Multinational firms and the new trade theory," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 3, pages 47-67, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. repec:ces:ifodic:v:3:y:2005:i:4:p:14567599 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Sandrine Cazes & Alena Nesporova, 2004. "Labour markets in transition: balancing flexibility and security in Central and Eastern Europe," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 91(5), pages 23-54.
    16. Boeri, Tito & Garibaldi, Pietro, 2006. "Are labour markets in the new member states sufficiently flexible for EMU?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1393-1407, May.
    17. Brambor, Thomas & Clark, William Roberts & Golder, Matt, 2006. "Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 63-82, January.
    18. Wolfgang Ochel, 2005. "Concepts and Measurement of Labour Market Institutions," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 3(04), pages 40-55, January.
    19. Bevan, Alan A. & Estrin, Saul, 2004. "The determinants of foreign direct investment into European transition economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 775-787, December.
    20. Agnès Bénassy-Quéré & Nicolas Gobalraja & Alain Trannoy, 2007. "Tax and public input competition [‘Tax competition and economic geography’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 22(50), pages 386-430.
    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. Ketteni, Elena & Kottaridi, Constantina, 2019. "The impact of regulations on the FDI-growth nexus within the institution-based view: A nonlinear specification with varying coefficients," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 415-427.
    2. Masahiro Tokunaga & Ichiro Iwasaki, 2017. "The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Transition Economies: A Meta-analysis," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(12), pages 2771-2831, December.
    3. Mogab, J. & Kishan, R. & Vacaflores, D.E., 2013. "Labor Market Rigidity And Foreign Direct Investment: The Case Of Europe," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 13(1), pages 35-54.
    4. Mina, Wasseem & Jaeck, Louis, 2015. "Labor Market Flexibility and FDI Flows: Evidence from Oil-Rich GCC and Middle Income Countries," MPRA Paper 62652, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Antonio Baez‐Morales, 2021. "A panel data analysis of FDI and informal labour markets," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 346-363, July.
    6. Eichhorst, Werner & Colussi, Tommaso & Guzi, Martin & Kahanec, Martin & Lichter, Andreas & Nikolova, Milena & Sommer, Eric, 2017. "People to Jobs, Jobs to People: Global Mobility and Labor Migration," IZA Research Reports 74, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Dimitar NIKOLOSKI, 2017. "The impact of Foreign Direct Investments on employment: the case of the Macedonian manufacturing sector," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 8, pages 147-165, December.
    8. Jayjit Roy, 2016. "Employment Protection Legislation and International Trade," Working Papers 16-06, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    9. Antonio Baez, 2014. "“A panel data analysis of FDI and informal labor markets”," IREA Working Papers 201404, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Feb 2014.
    10. Roy, Jayjit, 2021. "The effect of employment protection legislation on international trade," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 221-234.
    11. Krzywdzinski, Martin, 2014. "Do investors avoid strong trade unions and labour regulation? Social dumping in the European automotive and chemical industries," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 28(6), pages 926-945.
    12. Gerda Dewit & Dermot Leahy & Catia Montagna, 2013. "Employment Protection, Flexibility and Firms' Strategic Location Decisions under Uncertainty," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(319), pages 441-474, July.
    13. Branimir Jovanovic & Biljana Jovanovic, 2018. "Ease of doing business and FDI in the ex-socialist countries," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 587-627, July.
    14. Iwasaki, Ichiro & 岩﨑, 一郎 & Tokunaga, Masahiro, 2019. "The Determinants and Macroeconomic Impacts of Foreign Direct Investment in Transition Economies," CEI Working Paper Series 2019-8, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    15. Markus Leibrecht & Christian Bellak, 2023. "Investment policy reform as a driver of foreign direct investment: Evidence from China," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 1035-1053, October.
    16. Ogbeifun Lawrence & Shobande Olatunji Abdul, 2020. "Causality Analysis of Disaggregated FDI Inflows on Sectorial Growth in OECD Area," Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, Sciendo, vol. 30(4), pages 92-110, December.
    17. Bettina Becker & Nigel Driffield & Sandra Lancheros & James H. Love, 2020. "FDI in hot labour markets: The implications of the war for talent," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(2), pages 107-133, June.
    18. Dewit, Gerda & Leahy, Dermot & Montagna, Catia, 2012. "Employment Protection, Flexibility and Firms’ Strategic Location Decisions under Uncertainty," SIRE Discussion Papers 2012-24, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    19. Markus Leibrecht & Christian Bellak, 2009. "Does the impact of employment protection legislation on FDI differ by skill-intensity of sectors? An empirical investigation," Discussion Papers 09/21, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    20. Tokunaga, Masahiro & Iwasaki, Ichiro, 2014. "Transition and FDI: A Meta-Analysis of the FDI Determinants in Transition Economies," RRC Working Paper Series 47, Russian Research Center, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

    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. Markus Leibrecht & Christian Bellak, 2009. "Does the impact of employment protection legislation on FDI differ by skill-intensity of sectors? An empirical investigation," Discussion Papers 09/21, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    2. Christian Bellak & Markus Leibrecht & Jože P. Damijan, 2009. "Infrastructure Endowment and Corporate Income Taxes as Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Central and Eastern European Countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 267-290, February.
    3. repec:lic:licosd:19307 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. 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.
    5. Bailey, Nicholas, 2018. "Exploring the relationship between institutional factors and FDI attractiveness: A meta-analytic review," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 139-148.
    6. Dellis, Konstantinos & Sondermann, David & Vansteenkiste, Isabel, 2022. "Drivers of genuine FDI inflows in advanced economies," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 407-419.
    7. Stack, Marie M. & Ravishankar, Geetha & Pentecost, Eric, 2017. "Foreign direct investment in the eastern European countries: Determinants and performance," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 86-97.
    8. Vincent Delbecque & Isabelle Méjean & Lise Patureau, 2014. "Labor market institutions and firms’ location choices," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 150(1), pages 115-148, February.
    9. Roy, Jayjit, 2021. "The effect of employment protection legislation on international trade," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 221-234.
    10. Yulia Gorbunova & Davide Infante & Janna Smirnova, 2012. "New Evidence on FDI Determinants: An Appraisal Over the Transition Period," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(2), pages 129-149.
    11. Mariam Camarero & Laura Montolio & Cecilio Tamarit, 2020. "Determinants of FDI for Spanish regions: evidence using stock data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 2779-2820, December.
    12. Dorota Wawrzyniak, 2010. "Determinanty lokalizacji bezpośrednich inwestycji zagranicznych," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 4, pages 89-111.
    13. Pehr‐Johan Norbäck & Per Skedinger & Jing‐Lin Duanmu, 2021. "Employment protection and FDI revisited: New evidence from micro data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 645-670, March.
    14. Wasseem Mina, 2018. "Labor Market Policies and FDI Flows to GCC Countries," Working Papers 1201, Economic Research Forum, revised 27 May 2018.
    15. Branimir Jovanovic & Biljana Jovanovic, 2018. "Ease of doing business and FDI in the ex-socialist countries," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 587-627, July.
    16. Abu Hatab, Assem, 2015. "The Impact of Regional Integration on Intra-Arab Trade in Agrifood Commodities: A Panel Data Approach," MPRA Paper 67991, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Jun 2015.
    17. Andrzej Cieślik, 2020. "What attracts multinational enterprises from the new EU member states to Poland?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(2), pages 253-269, June.
    18. Miroslav Mateev & Iliya Tsekov, 2014. "Are there any top FDI performers among EU-15 and CEE countries? A comparative panel data analysis," Financial Theory and Practice, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 38(3), pages 337-374.
    19. Drapkin, I. & Mariev, O. & Chukavina, K., 2015. "Inflow and Outflow Potentials of Foreign Direct Investment in the Russian Economy: Numerical Estimation Based on the Gravity Approach," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 28(4), pages 75-95.
    20. Cohle, Zachary & Ortega, Alberto, 2022. "Life of the party: The polarizing effect of foreign direct investment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    21. Thierry Mayer, 2006. "Policy Coherence for Development : A Background paper on Foreign Direct Investment," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-01065640, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign Direct Investment; Central and Eastern Europe; Labor Market; Employment Protection;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:jku:econwp:2007_16. 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: René Böheim (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vlinzat.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.