Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 July 2017
This paper uses a global vector autoregressive (GVAR) model to analyze the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and output dynamics in a multicountry context. The GVAR model enables us to make two important contributions: First, to model international linkages among a large number of countries, which is a key asset given the diversity of countries involved, and second, to model foreign direct investment and output dynamics jointly. The country-specific small-dimensional vector autoregressive submodels are estimated utilizing a Bayesian version of the model coupled with stochastic search variable selection priors to account for model uncertainty. Using a sample of 15 emerging and advanced economies over the period 1998:Q1–2012:Q4, we find that US outbound FDI exerts a positive long-term effect on output. Asian and Latin American economies tend to react faster and also stronger than Western European countries. Forecast error variance decompositions indicate that FDI plays a prominent role in explaining gross domestic product fluctuations, especially in emerging market economies.
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Austrian National Bank, Jubiläumsfond grant no. 16249. We are indebted to Benedikt Sargant for excellent research support.