We examine the effects of greenfield FDI and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on total factor productivity (TFP) in developed and developing host countries of FDI. Using panel data for up to 123 countries over the period from 2003 to 2011, we find that greenfield FDI has no statistically significant effect on TFP while M&As have a positive effect on TFP in the total sample. Greenfield FDI and M&As both appear to be ineffective in increasing TFP in the sub-sample of developing countries. In contrast, M&As have a strong and positive effect on TFP in the sub-sample of developed countries.

This article examines the effects of greenfield investment and M&As on domestic investment using panel data for 100 developing countries for the period 2003 to 2011. It is shown that while cross-border M&As do not have a significant effect on domestic investment, greenfield FDI has a large crowding-out effect.

Decision and policy makers in disaster management are compelled to look at alternative measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. They require integrated measures to both reduce the spread of COVID-19 and response to disasters. The measures to mitigate damage of disaster amid COVID-19 can become expensive and inefficient compared to single disaster responses, resulting in delays. Hence, a balance is crucial to successfully manage co-occurring disasters, and new holistic approaches are necessary to produce efficient responses during the COVID-19 outbreak. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11069-021-04658-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of greenfield foreign direct investment (GFDI) and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) on the environment and more specifically, on the sectoral emissions of CO2. The authors identify significant differential and income effects with various data classifications of foreign direct investment (FDI) mode of entry. Design/methodology/approach The authors use system generalized method of moments with instruments for income and GFDI and M&A, which allows us to control for present reverse causality and endogeneity of income and the two modes of FDI. Findings Evidence from the full sample reveals that GFDI increases pollution, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis, while M&As decrease pollution in line with the halo effect hypothesis. GFDI flowing into poorer countries worsens the environment, while M&As flowing to industrialized economies reduce pollution. Entry-mode effects are also present at the level of industry emissions. GFDI in developed economies decreases pollution in transport industry but increases it in poorer countries. Practical implications The authors demonstrate: first, a recipient country level-of-development effect: GFDI investment flowing into poorer countries has harmful effects on environment, but no significant effect in rich economies, while M&As flowing to industrialized economies have a beneficial effect to the environment, supporting the halo hypothesis. Second, the authors demonstrate a differential entry-mode effect at the industry level: GFDI in developed economies decreases pollution from transport industry, while both modes of entry in developing economies increase it. Social implications M&As emerge as a type of FDI that is less harmful to the environment. This is especially true in the case of developed economies. However, policymakers should oversee strictly the inbound GFDI flows and determine whether they carry “dirty” or “clean” production processes. This is the type of FDI to be regulated and scrutinized to ensure that economic development is fostered alongside environmental conservation. Originality/value In existing theoretical and empirical literature, little guidance is available on which mode of entry would have greater effect on the environment of the host country. This paper answers this issue by disaggregating FDI flows into GFDI and M&As and examining how each mode of entry impacts pollution in host countries. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the environmental impact of the two modes of entry of FDI while disentangling the environmental Kuznets curve effect from the halo effect.