Labor Skills and Foreign Investment in a Dynamic Economy: Estimating the Knowledge-Capital Model for Singapore

48 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Gnanaraj Chellaraj

Gnanaraj Chellaraj

Ministry of Health, Singapore

Keith E. Maskus

University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Aaditya Mattoo

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Date Written: June 1, 2009

Abstract

Singapore is an interesting example of how the pattern of foreign investment changes with economic development. The authors analyze inbound and outbound investment between Singapore and a sample of industrialized and developing countries over the period 1984-2003. They find that Singapore's two-way investment with industrialized nations has shifted into skill-seeking activities over the period, while Singapore's investments in developing countries have increased sharply and become concentrated in labor-seeking activities. Singapore's increasing skill abundance relative to all countries in the sample accounted for 41 percent of average inbound stocks during the period, that is, US$18 billion annually; the corresponding figure for outbound stocks was 40 percent, that is, US$5.51 billion annually.

Keywords: Debt Markets, Non Bank Financial Institutions, Investment and Investment Climate, Economic Theory & Research

Suggested Citation

Chellaraj, Gnanaraj and Maskus, Keith E. and Mattoo, Aaditya, Labor Skills and Foreign Investment in a Dynamic Economy: Estimating the Knowledge-Capital Model for Singapore (June 1, 2009). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4950, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1414712

Gnanaraj Chellaraj (Contact Author)

Ministry of Health, Singapore ( email )

College of Medicine
16 College Road
Singapore, 169854
Singapore

Keith E. Maskus

University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Economics ( email )

Campus Box 256
Boulder, CO 80309
United States
303-492-7588 (Phone)
303-492-8960 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Aaditya Mattoo

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H Street, N.W.
Room MC 3-327
Washington, DC 20433
United States
202-458-8047 (Phone)
202-676-9810 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://econ.worldbank.org/staff/amattoo

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
93
Abstract Views
883
Rank
502,565
PlumX Metrics