International Openness and Social Development as Endogenous Determinants of Growth

We study empirically the impact of social indicators on growth in the context of FDI and trade. In this article, we argue that the positive growth effects of FDI and trade arise from factors such as knowledge spillovers or technological upgrading. Therefore, the effect of FDI and trade depends on the structural and sectoral investment composition, which depends in turn on social indicators such as income inequality, human development, education, and health.