IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/mar/magkse/201537.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sectoral FDI, Absorptive Capacity and Economic Growth — Empirical Evidence from Egyptian Governorates

Author

Listed:
  • Shima'a Hanafy

    (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)

  • Marcus Marktanner

    (Kennesaw State University)

Abstract

Using a novel panel dataset of Egyptian governorates for the period 1992–2007, we investigate the effects of aggregate and sectoral foreign direct investment (FDI) on Egypt’s economic growth. We distinguish between FDI in the manufacturing, agriculture and service sector. The similarity of governorates in terms of institutional characteristics like culture, language, and legal framework and the consistency of the data collection process enables an effective estimation of the effect of FDI on Egypt’s economic growth. Employing General Methods of Moments (GMM) panel estimations, we find that neither aggregate nor sectoral FDI has an unconditional effect on economic growth. We also reject human capital as a channel of absorptive capacity, but reveal an interesting effect of FDI in the service sector on economic growth in interaction with domestic private investment (DPI). Service FDI promotes economic growth only if the host governorate has a minimum threshold of DPI to absorb foreign knowledge and technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Shima'a Hanafy & Marcus Marktanner, 2015. "Sectoral FDI, Absorptive Capacity and Economic Growth — Empirical Evidence from Egyptian Governorates," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201537, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    • Handle: RePEc:mar:magkse:201537
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb02/makro/forschung/magkspapers/paper_2015/37-2015_hanafy.pdf
    File Function: First 201537
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Malik, Adeel & Awadallah, Bassem, 2013. "The Economics of the Arab Spring," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 296-313.
    2. Robert J. Barro, 2013. "Inflation and Economic Growth," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(1), pages 121-144, May.
    3. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. de Mello, Luiz R, Jr, 1999. "Foreign Direct Investment-Led Growth: Evidence from Time Series and Panel Data," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 133-151, January.
    5. Constantino Hevia & Norman Loayza, 2012. "Saving And Growth In Egypt," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(01), pages 1-23.
    6. Magnus Blomström & Ari Kokko & Mario Zejan, 2000. "Multinational Corporations and Spillovers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 8, pages 101-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Kevin Honglin Zhang, 2001. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth in China?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 9(3), pages 679-693, November.
    8. Miao Wang, 2009. "Manufacturing FDI and economic growth: evidence from Asian economies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(8), pages 991-1002.
    9. Borensztein, E. & De Gregorio, J. & Lee, J-W., 1998. "How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?1," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 115-135, June.
    10. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    11. Iwasaki, Ichiro & Tokunaga, Masahiro, 2014. "Macroeconomic Impacts of FDI in Transition Economies: A Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 53-69.
    12. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Iamsiraroj, Sasi & Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet Ali, 2015. "Foreign direct investment and economic growth: A real relationship or wishful thinking?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 200-213.
    14. Anton Dobronogov & Farrukh Iqbal, 2007. "Economic Growth in Egypt: Constraints and Determinants," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 9(1), pages 31-66.
    15. Dierk Herzer, 2012. "How Does Foreign Direct Investment Really Affect Developing Countries' Growth?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 396-414, May.
    16. Richard Baldwin & Henrik Braconier & Rikard Forslid, 2005. "Multinationals, Endogenous Growth, and Technological Spillovers: Theory and Evidence," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(5), pages 945-963, November.
    17. Dutt, Amitava Krishna, 1997. "The pattern of direct foreign investment and economic growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(11), pages 1925-1936, November.
    18. Kugler, Maurice, 2006. "Spillovers from foreign direct investment: Within or between industries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 444-477, August.
    19. Abdur Chowdhury & George Mavrotas, 2006. "FDI and Growth: What Causes What?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 9-19, January.
    20. 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.
    21. Blalock, Garrick & Gertler, Paul J., 2008. "Welfare gains from Foreign Direct Investment through technology transfer to local suppliers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 402-421, March.
    22. Doytch, Nadia & Uctum, Merih, 2011. "Does the worldwide shift of FDI from manufacturing to services accelerate economic growth? A GMM estimation study," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 410-427, April.
    23. Miao Wang & M. C. Sunny Wong, 2009. "What Drives Economic Growth? The Case of Cross‐Border M&A and Greenfield FDI Activities," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 316-330, April.
    24. Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, 2004. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers Through Backward Linkages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 605-627, June.
    25. Xavier Sala-I-Martin, 1997. "Transfers, Social Safety Nets, and Economic Growth," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 44(1), pages 81-102, March.
    26. Titus O. Awokuse & Ruizhi Xie, 2015. "Does Agriculture Really Matter for Economic Growth in Developing Countries?," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 63(1), pages 77-99, March.
    27. Alfaro, Laura & Chanda, Areendam & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sayek, Selin, 2004. "FDI and economic growth: the role of local financial markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 89-112, October.
    28. Maria Cipollina & Giorgia Giovannetti & Filomena Pietrovito & Alberto F. Pozzolo, 2012. "FDI and Growth: What Cross-country Industry Data Say," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1599-1629, November.
    29. Wang, Jian-Ye & Blomstrom, Magnus, 1992. "Foreign investment and technology transfer : A simple model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 137-155, January.
    30. Usha Nair‐Reichert & Diana Weinhold, 2001. "Causality Tests for Cross‐Country Panels: a New Look at FDI and Economic Growth in Developing Countries," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 63(2), pages 153-171, May.
    31. Fernandes, Ana M. & Paunov, Caroline, 2012. "Foreign direct investment in services and manufacturing productivity: Evidence for Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 305-321.
    32. Kamal A. El-Wassal, 2012. "Foreign Direct Investment And Economic Growth In Arab Countries (1970-2008): An Inquiry Into Determinants Of Growth Benefits," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 37(4), pages 79-100, December.
    33. Joseph E. Stiglitz & Justin Yifu Lin (ed.), 2013. "The Industrial Policy Revolution I," International Economic Association Series, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-33517-3, December.
    34. Luiz R. de Mello Jr., 1997. "Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: A Selective Survey," Studies in Economics 9701, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    35. Bruce A. Blonigen & Ronald B. Davies & Glen R. Waddell & Helen T. Naughton, 2019. "FDI in Space: Spatial Autoregressive Relationships in Foreign Direct Investment," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foreign Direct Investment, chapter 2, pages 55-88, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    36. Timothy C. Ford & Jonathan C. Rork & Bruce T. Elmslie, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth, and the Human Capital Threshold: Evidence from US States," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 96-113, February.
    37. Robert Lensink & Oliver Morrissey, 2006. "Foreign Direct Investment: Flows, Volatility, and the Impact on Growth," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 478-493, August.
    38. Robert J. Barro, 2013. "Education and Economic Growth," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(2), pages 301-328, November.
    39. Davide Castellani & Antonello Zanfei, 2006. "Multinational Firms, Innovation and Productivity," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3709.
    40. repec:bla:obuest:v:63:y:2001:i:2:p:153-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    41. Laura Alfaro & Andrew Charlton, 2013. "Growth and the Quality of Foreign Direct Investment," International Economic Association Series, in: Joseph E. Stiglitz & Justin Yifu Lin (ed.), The Industrial Policy Revolution I, chapter 3, pages 162-204, Palgrave Macmillan.
    42. Alfaro, Laura & Chanda, Areendam & Kalemli-Ozcan, Sebnem & Sayek, Selin, 2010. "Does foreign direct investment promote growth? Exploring the role of financial markets on linkages," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 242-256, March.
    43. Klaus Deininger & Derek Byerlee & Jonathan Lindsay & Andrew Norton & Harris Selod & Mercedes Stickler, 2011. "Rising Global Interest in Farmland : Can it Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2263.
    44. Li, Xiaoying & Liu, Xiaming, 2005. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: An Increasingly Endogenous Relationship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 393-407, March.
    45. Chakraborty, Chandana & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2008. "Economic Reforms, FDI, and Economic Growth in India: A Sector Level Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1192-1212, July.
    46. Yao, Shujie & Wei, Kailei, 2007. "Economic growth in the presence of FDI: The perspective of newly industrialising economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 211-234, March.
    47. Luiz de Mello, 1997. "Foreign direct investment in developing countries and growth: A selective survey," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 1-34.
    48. Rodriguez-Clare, Andres, 1996. "Multinationals, Linkages, and Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 852-873, September.
    49. repec:bla:jecsur:v:12:y:1998:i:3:p:247-77 is not listed on IDEAS
    50. Vera Songwe & Klaus Deininger, 2009. "Foreign Investment in Agricultural Production : Opportunities and Challenges," World Bank Publications - Reports 9501, The World Bank Group.
    51. Herzer, Dierk & Klasen, Stephan & Nowak-Lehmann D., Felicitas, 2008. "In search of FDI-led growth in developing countries: The way forward," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 793-810, September.
    52. Philipp Harms & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2014. "Good and bad FDI: The growth effects of greenfield investment and mergers and acquisitions in developing countries," Working Papers CEB 14-021, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Shima’a Hanafy & Marcus Marktanner, 2019. "Sectoral FDI, absorptive capacity and economic growth – empirical evidence from Egyptian governorates," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 57-81, January.
    2. Segundo Camino-Mogro & Natalia Bermúdez-Barrezueta & Mary Armijos, 2023. "Is FDI a potential tool for boosting firm’s performance? Firm level evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 341-391, April.
    3. Maria Cipollina & Giorgia Giovannetti & Filomena Pietrovito & Alberto F. Pozzolo, 2012. "FDI and Growth: What Cross-country Industry Data Say," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1599-1629, November.
    4. Argentino Pessoa, 2008. "Multinational Corporations, Foreign Investment, and Royalties and License Fees: Effects on Host-Country Total Factor Productivity," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 28, pages 6-31, December.
    5. Mohammad Sharif Karimi & Andrzej Cieslik, 2017. "Foreign Knowledge Spillovers and Total Factor Productivity Growth: Evidence from Four ASEAN Countries," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 21(2), pages 267-299, Spring.
    6. Müller, Patrick, 2021. "Impacts of inward FDIs and ICT penetration on the industrialisation of Sub-Saharan African countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 265-279.
    7. Rajneesh Narula & André Pineli, 2017. "Multinational Enterprises and Economic Development in Host Countries: What We Know and What We Don’t Know," Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance, in: Gianluigi Giorgioni (ed.), Development Finance, chapter 6, pages 147-188, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Burcu ŞENALP, 2018. "Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth and Economic Freedom: A Literature Survey," Istanbul Journal of Economics-Istanbul Iktisat Dergisi, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 68(2), pages 301-336, December.
    9. Gunby, Philip & Jin, Yinghua & Robert Reed, W., 2017. "Did FDI Really Cause Chinese Economic Growth? A Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 242-255.
    10. Jeffrey A. EDWARDS & Cephas B. NAANWAAB & Alfredo A. ROMERO, 2017. "Effect of FDI on real per capita GDP Growth: A Rolling Window Panel Analysis of 60 countries, 1982-2011," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 17(1), pages 19-36.
    11. Santos, Eleonora, 2017. "Externalities from FDI on domestic firms’ Productivity: A Literature Review for Developed Countries," MPRA Paper 88958, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Mohammed Abdullah & Murshed Chowdhury, 2020. "Foreign Direct Investment and Total Factor Productivity: Any Nexus?," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 14(2), pages 164-190, May.
    13. Alaya MAROUANE & Dalila NICET-CHENAF & Eric ROUGIER, 2008. "The law of growth and attraction: an endogenous model of absorptive capacities, FDI and income for MENA countries," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2008-27, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    14. Coletta Frenzel Baudisch, 2018. "Sectoral FDI and the Real Exchange Rate: The Role of Financial Development," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201828, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    15. Chakraborty, Chandana & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2008. "Economic Reforms, FDI, and Economic Growth in India: A Sector Level Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1192-1212, July.
    16. Clark Don P. & Highfill Jannett & de Oliveira Campino Jonas & Rehman Scheherazade S., 2011. "FDI, Technology Spillovers, Growth, and Income Inequality: A Selective Survey," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 11(2), pages 1-44, July.
    17. Kose,Ayhan & Ohnsorge,Franziska Lieselotte & Ye,Lei Sandy & Islamaj,Ergys, 2017. "Weakness in investment growth : causes, implications and policy responses," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7990, The World Bank.
    18. Philipp Harms & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2011. "An FDI is an FDI is an FDI? The growth effects of greenfield investment and mergers and acquisitions in developing countries," Working Papers 11.10, Swiss National Bank, Study Center Gerzensee.
    19. Md Gyasuddin Ansari & Rudra Sensarma, 2022. "Does Economic Freedom Influence the FDI - Growth Nexus in BRICSASEAN Economies?," Working papers 530, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    20. Latif Khalilov & Chae-Deug Yi, 2020. "Is Foreign Direct Investment a Real Driving Force of Economic Growth? A Panel Data Analysis," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 12(3), pages 273-299, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign direct investment; sectoral FDI; absorptive capacity; economic growth; Egypt.;
    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
    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

    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:mar:magkse:201537. 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: Bernd Hayo (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vamarde.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.