Using a two-country model with heterogeneous firms, we show that the optimal level and welfare gains of foreign direct investment (FDI) subsidies critically depend on how they are funded. In a setting that resembles common tax distortions in emerging markets, we compare the effects of...

This paper studies the effect of FDI firms' financial advantages on firm productivity in host countries and examines the related policy implications. If FDI firms face lower financing costs but have higher fixed production costs than local firms, a simple Melitz-type model predicts that because...