FDI inflows to the Transition Economies in Eastern Europe: Magnitude and Determinants

This paper shows that there are large differences in the volume of FDI that individual European transition economies have attracted and tries to find determinants that can explain this distribution of FDI, using panel data. This paper makes a distinction between ‘traditional’ determinants based on the motive for FDI and ‘transition-specific’ determinants. The empirical analysis contributes to earlier research by separating the transition economies into two groups, CEE and CIS countries. The CEE group consists of countries with a much higher GDP per capita than the CIS group, and this is reflected in the observation that the FDI flows to the CEE are primarily driven by a market-seeking motive while resource-seeking investment can explain the distribution of FDI among the CIS economies. This paper also concludes that transition performance and the choice of primary privatisation method are important in explaining FDI inflows to the transition economies. The analysis only finds weak evidence for efficiency-seeking FDI into the region.