Potentials for East — West Integration: The Case of Foreign Direct Investment

Abstract

Reshaping the relationships between Western Europe and the former communist bloc is one of the most intriguing challenges for the coming years. Will Central and Eastern Europe become passive players in the European and world economy, or will companies located there become integrated as fully fledged partners? Foreign direct investment (FDI) is heavily concentrated in a few countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It is argued that the type of FDI is more important than the amount of FDI. There is a need for a critical assessment of the strategies of the investors and the impacts on local entrepreneurship. In this vein, the authors describe various interesting future research paths and make policy recommendations.

Growth Effects of Governmental Policies: A Comparative Analysis in a Multi‐Country Context

“…This is exemplified by current efforts of many areas to attract foreign direct investments (see, e.g., Van Geenhuizen and Nijkamp 1998). The main idea is to develop and promote the territory as a competitive place for industrial growth and related spin-offs.…”

“…In a more open and globalizing economy, localities and regions have the need to create a more distinct profile through territorial competition (see also Cheshire and Gordon 1998). This is exemplified by current efforts of many areas to attract foreign direct investments (see, e.g., Van Geenhuizen and Nijkamp 1998). The main idea is to develop and promote the territory as a competitive place for industrial growth and related spin-offs.…”

Nordic investments in the former soviet baltic frontier: a survey of firms and selected case studies

“…Foreign investment patterns in former Soviet Union (FSU) settings and East Central Europe (ECE) do not resemble exactly other regions of the world. According to van Geenhuizen and Nijkamp (1998) and also Korhonen (1994), the Asian models of development through importation of low wage, labour intensive industries from first-tier countries, which gradually lead to more skill-intensive production, do not fit the case of FSU and ECE settings. Instead of typical characteristics of underdevelopment, such as low-level education, lowskilled rural and recent urban populations, but with market economy traditions, the FSU and ECE have relatively high educational attainment but weakly established free-market institutions.…”

“…Instead of typical characteristics of underdevelopment, such as low-level education, lowskilled rural and recent urban populations, but with market economy traditions, the FSU and ECE have relatively high educational attainment but weakly established free-market institutions. Here, willingness of foreign companies to invest rests mainly on the speed and extent to which countries can alter their economic and legal systems as well as the ethos of their people (van Geenhuizen and Nijkamp, 1998). In the case of the Baltic nations, the latter criteria have developed quickly and this quality may have been an advantage compared to Russia.…”

Moving Frontiers: A Local-Global Perspective

“…On the national level, broadly speaking, three kinds of industrialization strategy can be distinguished: 0 local processing of indigenous raw materials; Cl import-substituting industrialization; 13 export-oriented industrialization. Van Geenhuizen and Nijkamp (1998) …”