The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the Mining Sector: A Panel Analysis

초록

Attracting foreign direct investment in the mining sector becomes a key factor for the continuing economic growth for mining-dependent developing countries. This paper attempts to identify the determining factors that attract FDI inflows into the mining sector. Based on previous conceptual studies, the authors have attempted empirical analyses on a panel of 40 mining countries for the period 1996-2009. These empirical results are the first of their kind given the variables employed are arguably the most comprehensive and exhaustive to date. The empirical results show that market size, trade openness, quality of mined products, quality of infrastructure, regulatory quality, and perceived economic risk associated with the country are positively related to investments in mining. Whereas, tariff rate, corporate tax rate, extent of corruption, and political instability are negatively related to FDI inflows in the mining sector. The empirical results also show that developing countries tend to attract greater amounts of FDI in the mining sector compared to their developed counterparts.

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