Synopsis
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is becoming increasingly critical to the economies of developing countries, in part due to a major expansion in the scope of global value chains (GVCs), whereby lead firms outsource parts of their production and services activities across complex international networks. FDI delivers important contributions including investment, employment, and foreign exchange. However, it is FDI’s spillover potential―the productivity gain that may result from the diffusion of knowledge and technology from foreign investors to local firms and workers―that is perhaps its most valuable contribution to long-run growth and development. While substantial research has been undertaken on the existence and direction of spillovers from FDI, many questions remain. Moreover, there is a need to understand better the dynamics of spillovers in certain contexts, including in low-income countries, in resource-based sectors, and in the context of GVCs. Making Foreign Direct Investment Work for Sub-Saharan Africa: Local Spillovers and Competitiveness in Global Value Chains presents the results of a groundbreaking study designed to address some of these questions, drawing on detailed field research in eight countries (including five in Sub-Saharan Africa) across three sectors: agribusiness, apparel, and mining. The book presents a summary of the results of this analytical work and discusses the implications for policy makers hoping to harness the power of FDI for greater development outcomes.
About the Author
Deborah Winkler is a SeniorConsultant in the World Bank Group's Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice.Deborah has worked on issues of global value chains, export competitiveness,foreign direct investment, trade in services, and the welfare effects ofinternational trade and offshoring. She is the author of Making Global ValueChains Work for Development (with Daria Taglioni), Outsourcing Economics:Global Value Chains in Capitalist Development (with William Milberg) andServices Offshoring and Its Impact on the Labor Market. Ms. Winkler is theeditor of Making Foreign Direct Investment Work for Sub-Saharan Africa: LocalSpillovers and Competitiveness in Global Value Chains (with Thomas Farole). Herrecent articles have appeared in World Development, Journal of EconomicGeography, and World Economy, as well as edited volumes by the World BankGroup, Centre for Economic Policy Research, International Labour Office andWorld Trade Organization, and Oxford Handbook Series. She received her PhD ineconomics from Hohenheim University in Germany.
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