Evidence shows that foreign direct investment can provide many benefits to host countries, including productivity improvements, better jobs, and knowledge transfer. Further, it can serve as a vehicle for transformation of domestic production and better integration with global value chains....

The 2007-2008 upsurge in agricultural commodity prices gave rise to widespread concern about investors causing a "global land rush" . Large land deals can provide opportunities for better access to capital, transfer of technology, and advances in productivity and employment generation. But they...

This paper examines the patterns and economic effects of foreign direct investment across the Belt and Road Initiative countries and assesses the potential role of the initiative in shaping the patterns and effects. Exploring cross-country bilateral transportation cost and foreign investment...

In considering how the euro will affect Sub-Saharan Africa, the authors examine the transmission channels through which the euro could affect economies in the region. They examine the risks and opportunities the euro presents for Sub-Saharan African countries. They especially examine the effects...

This study briefly summarizes the development experiences of special economic zones in China and Africa, the lessons that Africa can learn from China, and the preliminary results of the Chinese investments in special economic zones in Africa. The study makes recommendations on how to unleash the...

This paper documents an unusual and possibly significant phenomenon: The export of skills embodied in goods, services, or capital from poorer to richer countries. We first present a set of stylized facts. Using a measure that combines the sophistication of a country's exports with the average...

This paper discusses the results of a survey of multinational corporations with affiliates in developing countries. The paper explores corporate perspectives and decision making across the stages of the investment cycle: attraction, entry and establishment, operations and expansion, linkages...

Using a comprehensive and proprietary data set on international private equity activity, this paper studies the determinants of buyout investments across 61 countries and 19 industries over 1990-2017. The study finds evidence that macroeconomic conditions, development of stock and credit...

Recent data show that the institutional content of preferential trade agreements has evolved over time. Although pre-1990s preferential trade agreements mostly focused on tariff liberalization, recent agreements increasingly contain deep provisions in diverse areas, such as intellectual property...