Publication: Lessons for Development from London Business School's Centre for New and Emerging Markets (CNEM) Research Project 'Investment in Emerging Markets'
Loading...
Files in English
170 downloads
Published
2003
ISSN
Date
2012-06-26
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The nature of a country's institutional and policy environment, especially the quality of the legal framework and the predictability of government policy, is critical for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI is also affected by the quality of locally available resources, notably human capital, supplier industries and infrastructure. Policymakers should not look to FDI primarily as a source of employment creation: the main benefits instead derive from spillovers that improve competitiveness. Policies aimed at enhancing competitiveness of local firms also make an industry more attractive for foreign investors.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Estrin, Saul; Meyer, Klaus. 2003. Lessons for Development from London Business School's Centre for New and Emerging Markets (CNEM) Research Project 'Investment in Emerging Markets'. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9154 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Some Lessons from the CUTS 7-Up Comparative Competitive Policy Project(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003)Competition policy and competition authorities in developing countries can be effective, but the existence of an agency and a law is not sufficient for success. Effectiveness depends in large measure on the energy of the competition authorities and requires at least passive support of the State, including an adequate budget. The cases researched in this study suggest that foreign investors respect credible competition authorities, and that competition policy should not be seen as an additional bureaucratic burden.Publication Lessons from CBC Business Environment Surveys 1999, 2001, 2003(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003)A series of surveys of private sector views on the business climate conducted by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) found that predictability and simplicity of regulation is a priority for investors. Foreign investors especially would rather see a good business environment than elaborate incentives. The report recommends pro-active strategies that engage the government and those actors actually taking investment decisions, and that include concrete recommendations and implementation procedures. This approach can make a real difference in investors� perception and consequently on FDI flows.Publication Investment for Development Project (IFD) – Civil Society Perceptions(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003)The Investment for Development Project conducted a survey of civil society's views on foreign direct investment in 7 countries with a goal of identifying the factors encouraging or hindering FDI. The results showed that civil society is positive about FDI and perceives technology, management and capital as key contributions. There are significant concerns about negative aspects of FDI, the greatest being that foreign investors do not care about the impact of their investments on the local community. The strengthening of domestic businesses and adoption of effective competition policies are seen as the most desired policies to increase FDI benefits.Publication The Investment Climate for Female Informal Businesses : A Case Study from Urban and Rural India(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003)There is worldwide growth in the numbers of people working in the informal economy, either as self-employed in unregistered enterprises or as wage workers in unprotected jobs. Despite earlier predictions to the contrary, it is now widely recognized that the informal economy is a permanent phenomenon, integrally linked to modern capitalist development and to global integration. Although the relationship between the informal economy, the formal economy, and the formal regulatory environment are complex, it is now also widely recognized that informal enterprises, especially those run by women, face different and, arguably, greater constraints to business development than formal enterprises face.Publication The Investment Climate in South Africa? Regulatory Issues : Some Insights from the High-Growth, Export-oriented SME Sector(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003)Small and medium enterprises in South Africa consider the local investment climate overregulated. The principal problems identified by SMEs are complicated labor regulations, skills development issues, difficulties accessing domestic capital and pressures, including regulations, to pursue an empowerment agenda. Labor regulation burdens in particular affect investment decisions made by SMEs and contribute to capital intensive "jobless" growth. While there may have been good reasons for new regulations to address the distortions of apartheid, this has been done with little reference to principles of regulatory best practice.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Bank Annual Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25)This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.Publication Privatization in Developing Countries(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2018-02-01)This paper reviews the recent empirical evidence on privatization in developing countries, with particular emphasis on new areas of research such as the distributional impacts of privatization. Overall, the literature now reflects a more cautious and nuanced evaluation of privatization. Thus, private ownership alone is no longer argued to automatically generate economic gains in developing economies; pre-conditions (especially the regulatory infrastructure) and an appropriate process of privatization are important for attaining a positive impact. These comprise a list which is often challenging in developing countries: well-designed and sequenced reforms; the implementation of complementary policies; the creation of regulatory capacity; attention to poverty and social impacts; and strong public communication. Even so, the studies do identify the scope for efficiency-enhancing privatization that also promotes equity in developing countries.Publication Thailand Monthly Economic Monitor, October 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-22)Fiscal conditions remained stable, with a modest widening of the deficit to 3.1 percent of GDP. New stimulus measures are expected to support short-term demand without breaching the public debt ceiling. Inflation stayed negative, reflecting lower energy and food prices amid subdued domestic demand. The central bank kept the policy rate unchanged, citing limited policy space. Thailand’s growth momentum has slowed further as manufacturing activity and services weakened as projected. Tourism remained subdued, largely due to fewer Chinese visitors. Goods exports also slowed as earlier front-loaded orders faded, particularly in agriculture and industrial goods. The Thai baht depreciated in early October as the US dollar appreciated and the current account turned negative.Publication Regional Poverty and Inequality Update: Latin America and the Caribbean, October 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-23)This brief summarizes recent facts related to poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) using the latest wave of harmonized household surveys from the Socio-Economic Database for LAC (SEDLAC). This brief was produced by the Poverty Global Practice in the LAC Region of the World Bank.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.