Greenfield foreign direct investment and structural reforms in Europe : what factors determine investments?

Greenfield FDI flows into EU countries account for a non-negligible share of total EU FDI. They create new capital assets and additional production capacity which are important elements to support the transition to a stronger European growth path. This project investigates determinants of greenfield FDI flows into the EU countries using sectoral data on bilateral greenfield FDI flows and associated job creation for the 2003-2014 period. The dataset covers the 28 EU countries and also includes as country of origin the main non-EU investors. A gravity model explaining FDI from distance indicators and policy variables is built, while controlling for other important factors, employing Heckman two-step selection procedure. The results suggest that the business climate (from World Bank's Doing Business) and product market regulations (from OECD's PMR) are important determinants of greenfield investment in the EU. This project provides additional evidence on the importance of removing unnecessary regulatory barriers to investment and could help in the discussion on the Investment Plan for Europe.