The lesser of two evils: an empirical investigation of foreign direct investment-pollution tradeoff

This article investigates the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and pollution measured by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The results suggest that while lax environmental regulations might attract FDI, the foreign companies utilize less polluting technology as compared to local firms in low-income countries. Thus, FDI does not necessarily increase pollution levels in the host countries. The findings, therefore, simultaneously support the pollution haven and the pollution halo hypotheses.