Green(ing) Foreign Direct Investment and Sustainable Regional Development
As the world transitions to net-zero emissions, goods and services are increasingly incorporating green attributes. Achieving this shift requires new and diverse technologies and processes to deliver sustainable products from conception to end use (and beyond). Securing the capital, skills, and knowledge for this green transition is one of the greatest challenges of our time, particularly in less dynamic countries and regions. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can play a pivotal role in catalysing the green transition in host economies, yet the existing literature still lacks a clear understanding of ‘green’ FDI and how it responds to public policy.
This paper offers preliminary insights into these questions by using state-of-the-art Large Language Model (LLM) methods to identify green FDI beyond traditional sector-based definitions, providing a more nuanced view of the green transformation taking place across various industries and geographies in Europe. These emerging trends and patterns are then linked to the role of public policies by examining how national and regional authorities attract green FDI through an innovative survey.
By combining data on green FDI flows with information on the presence and timing of green FDI priority initiatives from 170 Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) across Europe, we investigate the effectiveness of targeted and selective policy efforts in bringing green capital, skills, and knowledge to regions, thereby supporting the green transition on the ground.
About Riccardo Crescenzi:
Riccardo Crescenzi is a Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK. He has been a European Research Council (ERC) grant holder, leading a major five-year research project on foreign direct investment (FDI), global value chains (GVCs) and their territorial impacts across the globe. He is currently the LSE Principal Investigator of a large collaborative research project funded by Horizon Europe and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on inequalities in the era of global megatrends.
About the Seminar:
Hosted by Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, these seminars feature visiting speakers on science, technology, and innovation policy. This event is in person for AMBS and UoM staff and students, with an online option available. Please feel free to share this invitation with your internal networks.
External participants are welcome to join online via Zoom, link to register:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mioir-seminar-series-with-riccardo-crescenzi-tickets-1254495322279
