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Multinational Enterprises, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in Africa : South African Perspectives
How can Africa, the world’s most lagging region, benefit from globalisation and achieve sustained economic growth? Africa needs greater investment by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) to improve competitiveness and generate more growth through positive spill-over effects. Despite the fact that Africa’s returns on investment averaged 29% since 1990, Africa has gained merely 1% of global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows. The challenge for African countries is how to be a more desirable destination for FDI. The study integrates three currents of economic research, namely from the literature on (endogenous) economic growth, convergence and regional integration, the explanations for Africa’s poor growth and the growing understanding of the role of MNEs in a global economy. The empirical side of the book is based on an econometric study of the determinants of FDI in Africa as well as a detailed firm-level survey conducted in 2000.
Growth, Trade and Economic Institutions
Endogenous growth is examined from the viewpoint of economic history, institutions and international trade. The main results are the following. The variance in institutional quality can be explained by historical differences in biogeographical potential for early agriculture. The expansion of output can lead to dis-agglomeration. The patterns of growth are sensitive to the technology parameters of the capital-good industry. With capital intensive industries, the balanced growth path can exhibit local indeterminacy. Economies integrate, if the productivity of R&D does not vary too much for them. Other aspects examined are the equilibrium of a dynamic multi-sector economy, the political economy of employment protection and the relationship between technological change and the demand for skill-intensive activities.
Macroeconomic modelling of R&D and innovation policies
This book encompasses a collection of in-depth analyses showcasing the challenges and ways forward for macroeconomic modelling of R&D and innovation policies. Based upon the proceedings of the EC-DG JRC-IEA workshop held in Brussels in 2017, it presents cutting-edge contributions from a number of leading economists in the field. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current academic and policy challenges surrounding R&D as well as of the state-of-the-art modelling techniques.
