Determinants of U.S. private foreign direct investments in OPEC nations : from public and non-public policy perspectives

Previous research demonstrates that non-public policy variables (wage rate, raw material, GDP, GDP/capita, inverse of tax rate, and population) have significant influence in determining the flow of U.S. investment. Research has not, however, demonstrated that government accounting variables significantly affect Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) flow into either Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) or non-OPEC countries. In light of this omission, the focus of this inquiry is on the examination of the potential influence of both government accounting and non-public variables in influencing the flow of the stock of U.S. foreign direct investment in the OPEC nations. To accomplish the objective, government accounting and non-public policy variables are employed to investigate whether they matter in determining investment flows into these countries. The results of the study suggest a direct linkage between the flow of FDI and accounting variables.