Mitchell Centre Seminar Series. Bruce Cronin University of Greenwich, .THE STRUCTURE OF LOCAL FDI EMBEDDING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
| Dates: | 25 February 2026 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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This study examines how structural characteristics of countries’ local inward and outward FDI networks influence economic development across different stages of development. Drawing from IMF Counterparty Direct Investment Statistics data 2009-2024, I apply an MRQAP time-fixed effects model to a set of Burt’s (1992) structural hole measures.
Findings show that developing economies benefit most from non?redundant inward FDI (IFDI) ties, where higher IFDI effective size is positively associated with per capita income, while larger numbers of inward partners are negatively related, indicating redundancy effects. Dense inward investment networks also support development in these economies, suggesting coordinated spillovers. Least developed countries gain primarily from targeted inward FDI and from dense outward FDI (OFDI) networks, which may enhance collective learning where domestic capabilities are limited. In developed economies, FDI network structure has little effect on income, but diversified outward FDI relationships (high OFDI degree) consistently support growth. Across all groups, Burt’s measure of constraint shows no significant impact.
Overall, the results demonstrate that the development value of FDI local network structure is strongly conditioned by a country’s stage of development, with non?redundant inward ties benefiting emerging economies, dense structures aiding the least developed, and outward diversification driving growth in advanced economies.
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