Can Developing Countries Benefit from a Multilateral Agreement on Foreign Direct Investment?

Abstract

This essay aims to determine whether developing countries can benefit from a multilateral agreement on foreign direct investment (FDI). For the purpose of this essay, the problem is broken into two separate questions. The first question is whether a multilateral agreement can help increase the flow of FDI into developing countries. The second question asks whether a multilateral agreement can help translate FDI inflows into economic development. The paper is organised in two sections - each devoted to addressing one of the two questions and each presenting a number of discussion points. The last part of this paper includes a brief summary of the main conclusions.

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Multilateral Agreement, Economic Development, World Bank, United Nations

JEL Classification: F02, F21, O19, R58