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Succinct yet insightful reports are most welcome – especially in our era, distracted as it is by a rising tide of shallow commentary. For those who care about foreign direct investment (FDI), the premier reports are Columbia FDI Perspectives, published every few weeks by the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment. Since the first issue (here republished as chapter 2) appeared in November 2008, the Perspectives have adhered to a format of about two pages, authored by a leading expert, on an FDI question of immediate interest. Consequently, there is no better way to keep abreast of changing trends and emerging themes.
Chapter 2 carries the prescient title, “The FDI recession has begun”; several issues (chapters 9-13) document the ascent and challenges of multinational enterprises based in emerging markets, particularly Brazil, India and China; chapter 6 explores farm deals in Africa with the provocative title, “Land grab or development opportunity?”; chapter 1 reveals that emerging markets would attract more than half of FDI in the midst of the Great Recession; chapters. 29 and 30 debate the arbitration featuring environmental claims between Pacific Rim LLC and El Salvador; chapter 22 surprisingly reports that general counsels often know little and care less about bilateral investment treaties.
Fortunately for FDI watchers, these issues of the Perspectives and many more – in fact the complete collection through 2010 – are now available in a single eBook. Corporate executives, who always have too much to read, will find this eBook essential for a quick briefing. Scholars, who always want to read more, will find the eBook a great place to start their quest. And policy officials, who want to know how the wind is blowing on hot questions, can find the direction from these Perspectives.
Much credit for this collection goes to the editor-in-chief, Karl P. Sauvant, the world’s pioneer in gathering reliable statistical information on foreign direct investment, a lifelong observer of FDI questions and a foremost scholar of multinational enterprises. Together with his team at the Vale Columbia Center, Sauvant has done a great service to those of us who care about FDI trends and emerging themes.
FDI Perspectives: Issues in International Investment
- International investment treaties and arbitration,
- national investment policies,
- emerging market investors
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/susan-franck/80/
In late 2008, as financial markets were crashing, the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment launched the Columbia FDI Perspectives. The first Perspective, entitled “The FDI recession has begun,” correctly forecast an FDI recession in the following year. From that first Perspective in late 2008 to the end of 2010, the series published thirty-three concise notes on topical FDI-related issues by diverse experts in the field. The purpose of these Perspectives is to inform readers about some of the important issues and trends in the contemporary debate on FDI, and to promote a wide-ranging discussion about the policy implications of these trends and events. The topics of these Perspectives, while not an exhaustive list of the issues raised by the global investment regime, capture a dynamic period in the global debate on international investment and reflect many hot topics and issues of continuing relevance in 2009-2010. Topics ranged from the implications of the financial crisis and recession for major economies, to the changing geography of the international investment regime and policy questions faced by emerging markets; from the implications of sovereign investment for national security and measures taken to restrict such investment, to policy options for countries seeking to increase inward investment flows and trying to stay competitive in a downward market; from investment in land and agriculture, to investment in extractive industries – raising important questions both for national policy and for the international investment regime. The range of topics reflects the multifaceted, interdisciplinary and rapidly evolving nature of key issues in international investment. This compilation of the Perspectives offers snapshots of some of the most topical issues of 2009-2010 and an opportunity to connect the dots, drawing out the interconnections among the various themes addressed in the stand-alone Perspectives. It is the collection of these issues and policy considerations that, woven together, forms the changing fabric of the international investment regime. By putting these pieces together in one volume, this e-book allows a clearer picture to emerge.