ABSTRACT
Little has been written about the UK’s international investment position since the Reddaway report on the effects of UK direct investment overseas, which was published in 1968 (Reddaway et al, 1968) and the Steuer report on foreign direct investment in the UK, which was published in 1973 (Steuer et al, 1973), both of which dealt with the situation in the decade ending in the mid-1960s. Since that time, quite significant changes in the level and composition of outward and inward direct investment flows have occurred, and also in the balance between the two, particularly as between economic sectors and regions. The centre of interest concerning the consequences of such capital movements has also shifted. With the coming on stream of North Sea oil, concern over the balance-of-payments effects of outward investment has lessened, but, as domestic unemployment has risen, so has anxiety over the possible loss of jobs which such investment might cause. Disquiet about the questionable business practices of some British and foreign owned multinational enterprises, the involvement of UK firms in politically unacceptable regimes, and the threats of some foreign based companies not to invest further in the UK because of the unco-operative policies of labour unions has intensified over the last decade.
