Foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean: An empirical analysis

Competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) among developing countries has intensified in recent years. Using a sample of 68 developing countries across different regions, with data from 1975-2005, this paper investigates whether Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) differs from non-LAC regions in regard to determinants of FDI; the evidence suggests that there are differences. In particular, the stock of infrastructure attracts FDI to LAC and constraints on the executive and high debt discourage FDI to non-LAC. These findings are robust to sample size, different estimators, endogeneity, and country fixed effects.