¡A nadie le importa (las instituciones) mamaeh!: an examination of the political and economic process of outward foreign direct investment in Latin America
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Date
2024-12-13
Authors
Ladines Azalia, Juan Carlos
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to use new institutional economic theory to discuss the progression of market-based institutions in the context of outward investment in Latin America after the economic reforms of the 1990s. This research project aims to provide a better understanding of how market-based institutions were built, especially in the South American region. The specific focus is on market-based institutions related to outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), which in South America is a phenomenon that has only begun to grow in importance in the last decade. This project also seeks to provide insights into what type of institutional relations have been built in the context of outward investment and evaluate the performance of emerging market economies (EMEs) in South America.
The research method involves two stages. The first method is a qualitative comparative analysis, which is used to select the emerging markets for investigation. The second method is a process tracing mechanism, which provides the analytical framework for exploring the outward investment performance of the selected EMEs. The data sources for this project are relevant, accessible, online archives and semi-structured interviews with 20 experts in the field of foreign direct investment.
This research shows that the reforms of the 1990s (the return to democracy and the implementation of a free market) produced uneven results in outward investment. Policy implementation related to OFDI in South America has been based on a series ineffective market-based institutions that allowed elusive activities, corruptive practices, and the blocking of promotion of investment regimes. These market-based institutions are anthropocentric and have resulted in under-the-table political and economic relations. In the absence of robust institutional frameworks, Latin America is therefore a region with complex political and economic interrelations, which highlights the need to further explore institutional reforms. Finally, the growing importance of outward investment from Latin America points to the need to explore internationalisation of markets from an institutional view, which could serve as an asset for navigating the region’s complex dynamics.
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Controlled Access
Keywords
Outward foreign direct investment , Latin America , Institutions , Investment promotion , Chile , Brazil , Argentina
Citation
Ladines Azalia, J. C. 2024. ¡A nadie le importa (las instituciones) mamaeh!: an examination of the political and economic process of outward foreign direct investment in Latin America. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.