Foreign direct investment and inflation

Date
2009
Authors
Sayek, S.
Editor(s)
Advisor
Supervisor
Co-Advisor
Co-Supervisor
Instructor
Source Title
Southern Economic Journal
Print ISSN
0038-4038
Electronic ISSN
2325-8012
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
Volume
76
Issue
2
Pages
419 - 443
Language
English
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Series
Abstract

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are able to shift investments between home and host countries to minimize the negative effects of changes in the macroeconomic environment. This article formalizes a model that allows studying this investment-smoothing behavior of MNEs facing inflation taxes in both the home and the host country. The MNE is allowed to invest in two economies, home and host, and to finance its foreign direct investment (FDI) either through domestic or foreign sources. The investment smoothing by the MNE is studied for cases of both vertical and horizontal FDI. The results suggest FDI is used as a hedging tool, mitigating the effects of inflation taxes even if there are no formal hedging mechanisms. The investment-smoothing reaction of MNEs depends on the reason for investment, the financing sources of FDI, and the substitutability between factors of production. Finally, this investmentsmoothing possibility (FDI) reduces the real negative effects of inflation.

Course
Other identifiers
Book Title
Citation
Published Version (Please cite this version)