Foreign Direct Investment and Export Performance: Empirical Evidence

We estimate the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on exports in 12 Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies for the period between 1996 and 2004. We separate the effects of FDI into supply capacity-increasing effects and FDI-specific effects. The supply capacity-increasing effects arise when FDI inflows increase the host country's production capacity, which, in turn, increase export supply potential. The FDI-specific effects arise because the multinational company may have superior knowledge and technology, better information about export markets, or better contact to the supply chain of the parent firm than do local firms. Our empirical results indicate that, for all countries in our sample, FDI has increased domestic supply capacity and hence exports. However, FDI-specific effects on exports are observed only in the new member states of the European Union.