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Infrastructure endowment and corporate income taxes as determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Central- and Eastern European Countries

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Listed author(s):
  • Christian Bellak
  • Markus Leibrecht
  • Joze P. Damijan

Abstract

This paper analyzes the importance of taxes on corporate income and production-related tangible infrastructure as determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Central- and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). We operationalize taxes using effective average tax rates on the bilateral level and employ indices derived from principal component analysis as a proxy for the infrastructure endowment. In the empirical analysis we control for a possible interrelation between taxes and infrastructure as determinants of FDI ?an issue usually neglected in the literature. Thus, we posit that there are likely to be interaction effects between taxes and infrastructure as determinants of FDI. Specifically, a favorable infrastructure endowment may compensate for relatively high taxes. Hence, higher taxes may not deter FDI. The results from our panel econometric analysis of bilateral outward FDI flows of 7 home in 8 CEE host countries for the 1995-2004 period in an augmented gravity model setting show that (i) both taxes and infrastructure play a role in the location decisions made by Multinational Enterprises; (ii) telecommunication and transport infrastructure are of special significance to FDI; and (iii) the tax-rate sensitivity of FDI indeed decreases with the level of infrastructure endowment.

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File URL: http://www.econ.kuleuven.be/licos/publications/dp/dp193.pdf
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Paper provided by LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven in its series LICOS Discussion Papers with number 19307.

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Length: 30 pages
Date of creation: 2007
Handle: RePEc:lic:licosd:19307
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Keywords: Foreign direct investment; transition economies; infrastructure; taxation;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
  • 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

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  1. 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.
  2. James R. Markusen, 2004. "Multinational Firms and the Theory of International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262633078, July.
  3. 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.
  4. Agnès Bénassy-Quéré & Nicolas Gobalraja & Alain Trannoy, 2007. "Tax and public input competition," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 22, pages 385-430, 04.
  5. Gramlich, Edward M, 1994. "Infrastructure Investment: A Review Essay," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(3), pages 1176-1196, September.
  6. Christian Bellak & Markus Leibrecht & Roman Romisch, 2007. "On the appropriate measure of tax burden on foreign direct investment to the CEECs," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(8), pages 603-606.
  7. 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.
  8. Peter E. Kennedy, 2005. "Oh No! I Got the Wrong Sign! What Should I Do?," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 77-92, January.
  9. 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.
  10. Mutti, John & Grubert, Harry, 2004. "Empirical asymmetries in foreign direct investment and taxation," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 337-358, March.
  11. Christian Bellak & Markus Leibrecht, 2009. "Do low corporate income tax rates attract FDI? - Evidence from Central- and East European countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(21), pages 2691-2703.
  12. Petroulas, Pavlos, 2007. "The effect of the euro on foreign direct investment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 1468-1491, August.
  13. Wheeler, David & Mody, Ashoka, 1992. "International investment location decisions : The case of U.S. firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 57-76, August.
  14. Stephen R. Yeaple & Stephen S. Golub, 2007. "International Productivity Differences, Infrastructure, and Comparative Advantage," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 223-242, 05.
  15. Timothy Goodspeed & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & JLi Zhang, 2006. "Are Government Policies More Important Than Taxation in Attracting FDI," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0614, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
  16. 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.
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