Do Foreign Direct Investment and Migration Influence the Sustainable Development of Outward Foreign Direct Investment? From the Perspective of Intellectual Property Rights Protection

In the current complicated and volatile international situation, maintaining the sustainable development of OFDI is critical to the economic recovery and growth of all countries. This study aims to examine the influence of foreign direct investment (FDI) and migration on the sustainable development of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), the moderating effects of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on the relationship between FDI and OFDI, and the relationship between migration and OFDI. Using the panel data of 85 countries from 2006 to 2018, we find that, globally, FDI positively affects OFDI and that the positive effect of FDI on OFDI is strengthened by the improvement of IPR protection. Migration negatively affects OFDI, and the influence of IPR protection on the relationship between migration and OFDI is not statistically significant. The study shows that in high-income countries, FDI positively affects OFDI, and IPR protection positively moderates the relationship between FDI and OFDI. For upper-middle-income countries, FDI positively affects OFDI, and IPR protection negatively moderates the relationship between FDI and OFDI. For lower-middle and low-income countries, the influence of FDI on OFDI is not statistically significant. Moreover, the influence of migration on OFDI is not significant in high- or upper-middle-income countries. For lower-middle and low-income countries, migration negatively affects OFDI, and IPR protection positively moderates the relationship between migration and OFDI.