ABSTRACT
Studies undertaken on the consequences and policy implications of the activities of foreign owned MNEs in host countries usually fall into two groups. These are, first, those which attempt, by way of field studies or use of published material, to evaluate the effects of inward direct investment and/or suggest policies which should be pursued in the light of such effects. Known as ‘because … then’ type studies, to be successful they require:
a clearly defined set of criteria by which the contribution of foreign direct investment (fdi) is to be appraised;
precisely identified assumptions about what would have happened to the resources deployed in the absence of fdi;
comprehensive data on the operations of foreign affiliates of MNEs and also those of their parent companies, which might affect the contribution of their affiliates to the local economy.
