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Theories of the Location of Foreign Direct Investment

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THEORIES OF THE LOCATION OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

1. INTRODUCTION The movement of capital as foreign direct investment (FDI) that has been seen in the world, and their concentrations at international and regional level has led, for decades now, to the emergence of various theories that intend to explain and justify why that motivate and manage to be determining what factors to establish the place in which it was made. The main ideas of these approaches are discussed briefly herein in order to elaborate on this phenomenon, although there is no agreed explanation regarding the causes of the location of this type of investment and of the features that must meet the destination to attract this level of investment. FDI globally decreased 18% in 20121, reaching USD 1.35 billion. The fragile state of the global economy and the uncertain situation in politics were the main causes. Considering the estimates of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), by the end of the year 2013 FDI will have reached a level close to the 2012 level. With the gradual improvement in macroeconomic conditions globally will increase investor confidence in the medium term, "transnational corporations (TNCs) could convert their record levels of cash holdings in new investments. FDI flows could then reach the level of 1.6 billion dollars in 2014 and 1.8 billion in 2015 "(see Figure 1), although the agency warns that there is a risk that a decline in FDI share as a result of certain factors ("the structural weakness of the global financial system, the possible deterioration of the macroeconomic environment and the great uncertainty about policies in areas essential for investor confidence").

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