Main Article Content
Abstract
Purpose ― In this study, we investigate the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic complexity in MINT and BRICS countries.
Methodology ― Data on economic complexity from MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity and data on FDI and other determinants of economic complexity are sourced from World Development indicators which spanned between 1991 and 2020. The countries are divided into three categories: All countries pooled together, MINT and BRICS countries. We employ panel co-integrating regression.
Findings ― Findings based on panel co-integration regression show that foreign direct investment positively impacts economic complexity in all the countries and MINT countries, while its impact is negative in BRICS countries.
Originality ― This study adds value to the literature by scrutinizing the nexus between FDI and economic complexity in the context of emerging economies and employs the panel co-integration technique for robust analysis. The study's findings shed light on the need for governments in developing countries to implement appropriate policies encouraging FDI inflows into their respective countries. Contributing to the host country's economic complexity, FDI inflows should be focused on highly technical investment and, most importantly, should be selective to enhance the development of priority sectors. An investment promotion policy may be required to encourage foreign investment in the host country.
Keywords
Article Details
Copyright (c) 2022 Tolulope T. Osinubi, Folorunsho M. Ajide
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Economic Journal of Emerging Markets by Center for Economic Studies, Universitas Islam Indonesia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
- Ajide, F. M. (2022). Economic complexity and entrepreneurship: Insights from Africa. International Journal of Development Issues, 21(3), 367–388. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-03-2022-0047
- Anand, R., Mishra, S., & Spatafora, N. (2012). Structural transformation and the sophistication of production (IMF Working Paper No. 2012/059). Washington, D.C.
- Antonietti, R., & Franco, C. (2021). From FDI to economic complexity: A panel Granger causality analysis. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 56, 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2020.11.001
- Arnold, J. M., & Javorcik, B. S. (2009). Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign direct investment and plant productivity in Indonesia. Journal of International Economics, 79(1), 42–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2009.05.004
- Arvanitis, A. (2005). Foreign direct investment in South Africa: Why has it been so low? In M. Nowak & L. A. Ricci (Eds.), Post-Apartheid South Africa: The first ten years (pp. 64–79). Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund.
- Bokpin, G. A., Mensah, Lord, & Asamoah, M. E. (2015). Foreign direct investment and natural resources in Africa. Journal of Economic Studies, 42(4), 608–621. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-01-2014-0023
- Bustos, P. (2011). Trade liberalization, exports, and technology upgrading: Evidence on the impact of MERCOSURon Argentinian firms. American Economic Review, 101(1), 304–340. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.1.304
- Cabral, M., & Veiga, P. (2010). Determinants of export diversification and sophistication in Sub-Saharan Africa (Nova SBE Working Paper Series No. 550). Retrieved from https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:unl:unlfep:wp550
- Chu, L. K. (2020). The effects of financial development on economic sophistication: Evidence from panel data. Applied Economics Letters, 27(15), 1260–1263. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2019.1676866
- Costinot, A. (2009). On the origins of comparative advantage. Journal of International Economics, 77(2), 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2009.01.007
- De Backer, K., & Sleuwaegen, L. (2003). Does foreign direct investment crowd out domestic entrepreneurship? Review of Industrial Organization, 22(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022180317898
- Eck, K., & Huber, S. (2016). Product sophistication and spillovers from foreign direct investment. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue Canadienne d’économique, 49(4), 1658–1684. https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.12247
- Gala, P., Camargo, J., Magacho, G., & Rocha, I. (2018). Sophisticated jobs matter for economic complexity: An empirical analysis based on input-output matrices and employment data. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 45, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2017.11.005
- Gao, J., & Zhou, T. (2018). Quantifying China’s regional economic complexity. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 492, 1591–1603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2017.11.084
- Ghebrihiwet, N. (2019). FDI technology spillovers in the mining industry: Lessons from South Africa’s mining sector. Resources Policy, 62, 463–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.04.005
- Gómez-Zaldívar, M., Llamosas, I., & Gómez Zaldívar, F. (2021). The relationship between economic complexity and the pattern of foreign direct investment flows among Mexican States. Review of Regional Studies, 51(1), 64–88. https://doi.org/10.52324/001c.21211
- Hartmann, D., Guevara, M. R., Jara-Figueroa, C., Aristarán, M., & Hidalgo, C. A. (2017). Linking economic complexity, institutions, and income inequality. World Development, 93, 75–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.020
- Hausmann, R. (2016). Economic development and the accumulation of know-how. Welsh Economic Review, 24, 13–16. https://doi.org/10.18573/j.2016.10049
- Hausmann, R., Hidalgo, C., & Bustos, S. (2014). The Atlas of economic complexity: Mapping paths to prosperity. Choice Reviews Online, 51(11), 10.5860/choice.51-5931.
- Ivanova, I., Strand, Ø., Kushnir, D., & Leydesdorff, L. (2017). Economic and technological complexity: A model study of indicators of knowledge-based innovation systems. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 120, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.04.007
- Javorcik, B. S., Lo Turco, A., & Maggioni, D. (2018). New and improved: Does FDI boost production complexity in host countries? The Economic Journal, 128(614), 2507–2537. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12530
- Kao, C. (1999). Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data. Journal of Econometrics, 90(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4076(98)00023-2
- Keller, W. (2010). International trade, foreign direct investment, and technology spillovers. In H. Hall & N. Rosenberg (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of innovation (pp. 793–829). North-Holland: Elsevier.
- Khan, H., Khan, U., & Khan, M. A. (2020). Causal nexus between economic complexity and FDI: Empirical evidence from time series analysis. The Chinese Economy, 53(5), 374–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2020.1730554
- Klafke, R. V, Lievore, C., Picinin, C. T., de Francisco, A. C., & Pilatti, L. A. (2016). Primary knowledge management practices applied in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) industries from 2001-2010. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(4), 812–828. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2015-0522
- Kosová, R. (2010). Do foreign firms crowd out domestic firms? Evidence from the Czech Republic. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(4), 861–881.
- Kumar, C. R., Nayak, C., & Pradhan, A. K. (2020). What determines crop diversification in North-East zone of India? Journal of Public Affairs, 22(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2450
- Lapatinas, A. (2019). The effect of the Internet on economic sophistication: An empirical analysis. Economics Letters, 174, 35–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.10.013
- Lin, J. Y., & Wang, Y. (2008). China’s integration with the World: Development as a process of learning and industrial upgrading (Policy Research Working Paper No. 4799). Washington, D. C.
- Ndikumana, L., & Sarr, M. (2019). Capital flight, foreign direct investment and natural resources in Africa. Resources Policy, 63, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.101427
- Nguéda, N. D. R., & Kelly, K. A. (2022). The nexus between economic complexity and foreign direct investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, 14(2), 41–52.
- Nguyen, C. P., Nguyen, B., Duy Tung, B., & Su, T. D. (2021). Economic complexity and entrepreneurship density: A non-linear effect study. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173, 121107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121107
- Nguyen, C. P., Schinckus, C., & Su, T. D. (2020). The drivers of economic complexity: International evidence from financial development and patents. International Economics, 164, 140–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2020.09.004
- Nguyen, C. P., & Su, T. D. (2021a). Economic integration and economic complexity: The role of basic resources in absorptive capability in 40 selected developing countries. Economic Analysis and Policy, 71, 609–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.07.001
- Nguyen, C. P., & Su, T. D. (2021b). Financing the economy: The multidimensional influences of financial development on economic complexity. Journal of International Development, 33(4), 644–684. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3541
- Njangang, H., Asongu, S., Tadadjeu, S., & Nounamo, Y. (2021). Is financial development shaping or shaking economic sophistication in African countries (Munich Personal RePEc Archive Paper No. 110132). Muenchen.
- O’neill, J. (2001). Building better global economic BRICs.
- Pedroni, P. (2004). Panel cointegration: Asymptotic and finite sample properties of pooled time series tests with an application to the econometric press. Econometric Theory, 20(3), 597–625. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266466604203073
- Poelhekke, S., & van der Ploeg, F. (2013). Do natural resources attract nonresource FDI? The Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(3), 1047–1065. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00292
- Pradhan, A. K., Sachan, A., Sahu, U. K., & Mohindra, V. (2022). Do foreign direct investment inflows affect environmental degradation in BRICS nations? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(1), 690–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15678-5
- Romer, P. (1993). Idea gaps and object gaps in economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 32(3), 543–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(93)90029-F
- Rubbo, P., Picinin, C. T., & Pilatti, L. A. (2021). Innovation and economic complexity in BRICS. International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 12(1), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJKMS.2021.112222
- Saadi, M. (2020). Remittance inflows and export complexity: New evidence from developing and emerging countries. The Journal of Development Studies, 56(12), 2266–2292. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1755653
- Sadeghi, P., Shahrestani, H., Kiani, K. H., & Torabi, T. (2020). Economic complexity, human capital, and FDI attraction: A cross country analysis. International Economics, 164, 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2020.08.005
- Singhania, M., & Saini, N. (2021). Demystifying pollution haven hypothesis: Role of FDI. Journal of Business Research, 123, 516–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.007
- Teixeira, A. A. C., & Fortuna, N. (2010). Human capital, R&D, trade, and long-run productivity. Testing the technological absorption hypothesis for the Portuguese economy, 1960–2001. Research Policy, 39(3), 335–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.009
- UNCTAD. (2018). World investment report 2018: Investment and new industrial policies. New York and Geneva.
- Xu, B., & Lu, J. (2009). Foreign direct investment, processing trade, and the sophistication of China’s exports. China Economic Review, 20(3), 425–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2009.01.004
- Zhu, S., & Li, R. (2017). Economic complexity, human capital and economic growth: Empirical research based on cross-country panel data. Applied Economics, 49(38), 3815–3828. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2016.1270413
References
Ajide, F. M. (2022). Economic complexity and entrepreneurship: Insights from Africa. International Journal of Development Issues, 21(3), 367–388. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-03-2022-0047
Anand, R., Mishra, S., & Spatafora, N. (2012). Structural transformation and the sophistication of production (IMF Working Paper No. 2012/059). Washington, D.C.
Antonietti, R., & Franco, C. (2021). From FDI to economic complexity: A panel Granger causality analysis. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 56, 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2020.11.001
Arnold, J. M., & Javorcik, B. S. (2009). Gifted kids or pushy parents? Foreign direct investment and plant productivity in Indonesia. Journal of International Economics, 79(1), 42–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2009.05.004
Arvanitis, A. (2005). Foreign direct investment in South Africa: Why has it been so low? In M. Nowak & L. A. Ricci (Eds.), Post-Apartheid South Africa: The first ten years (pp. 64–79). Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund.
Bokpin, G. A., Mensah, Lord, & Asamoah, M. E. (2015). Foreign direct investment and natural resources in Africa. Journal of Economic Studies, 42(4), 608–621. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-01-2014-0023
Bustos, P. (2011). Trade liberalization, exports, and technology upgrading: Evidence on the impact of MERCOSURon Argentinian firms. American Economic Review, 101(1), 304–340. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.1.304
Cabral, M., & Veiga, P. (2010). Determinants of export diversification and sophistication in Sub-Saharan Africa (Nova SBE Working Paper Series No. 550). Retrieved from https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:unl:unlfep:wp550
Chu, L. K. (2020). The effects of financial development on economic sophistication: Evidence from panel data. Applied Economics Letters, 27(15), 1260–1263. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2019.1676866
Costinot, A. (2009). On the origins of comparative advantage. Journal of International Economics, 77(2), 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2009.01.007
De Backer, K., & Sleuwaegen, L. (2003). Does foreign direct investment crowd out domestic entrepreneurship? Review of Industrial Organization, 22(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022180317898
Eck, K., & Huber, S. (2016). Product sophistication and spillovers from foreign direct investment. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue Canadienne d’économique, 49(4), 1658–1684. https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.12247
Gala, P., Camargo, J., Magacho, G., & Rocha, I. (2018). Sophisticated jobs matter for economic complexity: An empirical analysis based on input-output matrices and employment data. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 45, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2017.11.005
Gao, J., & Zhou, T. (2018). Quantifying China’s regional economic complexity. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 492, 1591–1603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2017.11.084
Ghebrihiwet, N. (2019). FDI technology spillovers in the mining industry: Lessons from South Africa’s mining sector. Resources Policy, 62, 463–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.04.005
Gómez-Zaldívar, M., Llamosas, I., & Gómez Zaldívar, F. (2021). The relationship between economic complexity and the pattern of foreign direct investment flows among Mexican States. Review of Regional Studies, 51(1), 64–88. https://doi.org/10.52324/001c.21211
Hartmann, D., Guevara, M. R., Jara-Figueroa, C., Aristarán, M., & Hidalgo, C. A. (2017). Linking economic complexity, institutions, and income inequality. World Development, 93, 75–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.020
Hausmann, R. (2016). Economic development and the accumulation of know-how. Welsh Economic Review, 24, 13–16. https://doi.org/10.18573/j.2016.10049
Hausmann, R., Hidalgo, C., & Bustos, S. (2014). The Atlas of economic complexity: Mapping paths to prosperity. Choice Reviews Online, 51(11), 10.5860/choice.51-5931.
Ivanova, I., Strand, Ø., Kushnir, D., & Leydesdorff, L. (2017). Economic and technological complexity: A model study of indicators of knowledge-based innovation systems. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 120, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.04.007
Javorcik, B. S., Lo Turco, A., & Maggioni, D. (2018). New and improved: Does FDI boost production complexity in host countries? The Economic Journal, 128(614), 2507–2537. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12530
Kao, C. (1999). Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data. Journal of Econometrics, 90(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4076(98)00023-2
Keller, W. (2010). International trade, foreign direct investment, and technology spillovers. In H. Hall & N. Rosenberg (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of innovation (pp. 793–829). North-Holland: Elsevier.
Khan, H., Khan, U., & Khan, M. A. (2020). Causal nexus between economic complexity and FDI: Empirical evidence from time series analysis. The Chinese Economy, 53(5), 374–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2020.1730554
Klafke, R. V, Lievore, C., Picinin, C. T., de Francisco, A. C., & Pilatti, L. A. (2016). Primary knowledge management practices applied in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) industries from 2001-2010. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(4), 812–828. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2015-0522
Kosová, R. (2010). Do foreign firms crowd out domestic firms? Evidence from the Czech Republic. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(4), 861–881.
Kumar, C. R., Nayak, C., & Pradhan, A. K. (2020). What determines crop diversification in North-East zone of India? Journal of Public Affairs, 22(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2450
Lapatinas, A. (2019). The effect of the Internet on economic sophistication: An empirical analysis. Economics Letters, 174, 35–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.10.013
Lin, J. Y., & Wang, Y. (2008). China’s integration with the World: Development as a process of learning and industrial upgrading (Policy Research Working Paper No. 4799). Washington, D. C.
Ndikumana, L., & Sarr, M. (2019). Capital flight, foreign direct investment and natural resources in Africa. Resources Policy, 63, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.101427
Nguéda, N. D. R., & Kelly, K. A. (2022). The nexus between economic complexity and foreign direct investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, 14(2), 41–52.
Nguyen, C. P., Nguyen, B., Duy Tung, B., & Su, T. D. (2021). Economic complexity and entrepreneurship density: A non-linear effect study. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173, 121107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121107
Nguyen, C. P., Schinckus, C., & Su, T. D. (2020). The drivers of economic complexity: International evidence from financial development and patents. International Economics, 164, 140–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2020.09.004
Nguyen, C. P., & Su, T. D. (2021a). Economic integration and economic complexity: The role of basic resources in absorptive capability in 40 selected developing countries. Economic Analysis and Policy, 71, 609–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.07.001
Nguyen, C. P., & Su, T. D. (2021b). Financing the economy: The multidimensional influences of financial development on economic complexity. Journal of International Development, 33(4), 644–684. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3541
Njangang, H., Asongu, S., Tadadjeu, S., & Nounamo, Y. (2021). Is financial development shaping or shaking economic sophistication in African countries (Munich Personal RePEc Archive Paper No. 110132). Muenchen.
O’neill, J. (2001). Building better global economic BRICs.
Pedroni, P. (2004). Panel cointegration: Asymptotic and finite sample properties of pooled time series tests with an application to the econometric press. Econometric Theory, 20(3), 597–625. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266466604203073
Poelhekke, S., & van der Ploeg, F. (2013). Do natural resources attract nonresource FDI? The Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(3), 1047–1065. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00292
Pradhan, A. K., Sachan, A., Sahu, U. K., & Mohindra, V. (2022). Do foreign direct investment inflows affect environmental degradation in BRICS nations? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(1), 690–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15678-5
Romer, P. (1993). Idea gaps and object gaps in economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 32(3), 543–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(93)90029-F
Rubbo, P., Picinin, C. T., & Pilatti, L. A. (2021). Innovation and economic complexity in BRICS. International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 12(1), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJKMS.2021.112222
Saadi, M. (2020). Remittance inflows and export complexity: New evidence from developing and emerging countries. The Journal of Development Studies, 56(12), 2266–2292. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1755653
Sadeghi, P., Shahrestani, H., Kiani, K. H., & Torabi, T. (2020). Economic complexity, human capital, and FDI attraction: A cross country analysis. International Economics, 164, 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2020.08.005
Singhania, M., & Saini, N. (2021). Demystifying pollution haven hypothesis: Role of FDI. Journal of Business Research, 123, 516–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.007
Teixeira, A. A. C., & Fortuna, N. (2010). Human capital, R&D, trade, and long-run productivity. Testing the technological absorption hypothesis for the Portuguese economy, 1960–2001. Research Policy, 39(3), 335–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.009
UNCTAD. (2018). World investment report 2018: Investment and new industrial policies. New York and Geneva.
Xu, B., & Lu, J. (2009). Foreign direct investment, processing trade, and the sophistication of China’s exports. China Economic Review, 20(3), 425–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2009.01.004
Zhu, S., & Li, R. (2017). Economic complexity, human capital and economic growth: Empirical research based on cross-country panel data. Applied Economics, 49(38), 3815–3828. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2016.1270413