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This article presents an analysis of the trends and patterns of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mongolia, a former centrally planned economy which embarked on economic reforms in 1990. Since then, there has been a dramatic increase in FDI inflow into the country. The volume of FDI rose from less than one per cent of GDP in 1991 to 80 per cent by 2010. These foreign-owned enterprises have made a significant contribution to the country’s export earnings, but their effects on employment-creation and hence poverty-reduction remains very small. This appears to be largely due to a heavy concentration of foreign firms in relatively capital-intensive mining sectors rather than labour-intensive light manufacturing. Further, there is evidence to support growing business confidence that Mongolia has a potential of FDI to become a major player in global commodity markets with its rich gold, copper, zinc, uranium, coal, molybdenum and oil reserves.

Sri Lanka’s economic policy strategies radically moved away from inward-looking import-substituting industrialization to outward-looking export-oriented industrialization (EOI) in 1977. The EOI strategy was implemented through a broad agenda of reforms including trade liberalization, privatization of state owned enterprises and financial deregulation. These reforms had a profound impact on productivity in the export oriented production sector (primarily manufacturing) and laid the foundation for rapid growth and structural change. This study empirically analyzes the impact of policy reforms on the total factor productivity (TFP) of manufacturing industries in Sri Lanka. A balanced panel data set of all 27 manufacturing industries over 21 years is used. The industry heterogeneity effects are taken into account through the validation of a fixed effects model. The empirical results confirm, in general, that post 1977 pursuit of the EOI strategy has resulted in TFP growth. However, in an uncertain investment and economic climate due to the ethnic conflict that has engulfed Sri Lanka, TFP growth has reversed dramatically since 1994. The findings reinforce the view that in order to increase productivity and growth in developing countries in this era of Globalization the pursuit of open economy policies alone is insufficient. Fostering of a stable political environment is also necessary.

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This article contributes to the literature on the economic impact of ecotourism in regional China with a focus on Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, which attract about 50 per cent of the total number of tourists visiting China annually. Our analysis suggests that tourism significantly contributes to value added, output, income and employment generation in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, although the level of contribution varies between the two provinces. For example, the impact of an additional tourist dollar would be higher in generating employment and household income in Yunnan province, while the same dollar has a higher impact in generating value added in Sichuan. While in both provinces international tourists generate much higher income per capita than their domestic counterparts, in comparison with Sichuan, Yunnan is considered to be better placed for further development of tourism, particularly ecotourism. The promotion of ecotourism in these provinces will also encourage the Chinese youth to stay in their own provinces rather than to migrate to export-processing provinces—a problem that has already created a concern among the Chinese policymakers.