Multinational Enterprises, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in Africa: South African Perspectives (Contributions to Economics)

How can Africa, the world’s most lagging region, benefit from globalisation and achieve sustained economic growth? Africa needs greater investment by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) to improve competitiveness and generate more growth through positive spill-over effects. Despite the fact that Africa’s returns on investment averaged 29% since 1990, Africa has gained merely 1% of global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows. The challenge for African countries is how to be a more desirable destination for FDI. The study integrates three currents of economic research, namely from the literature on (endogenous) economic growth, convergence and regional integration, the explanations for Africa’s poor growth and the growing understanding of the role of MNEs in a global economy. The empirical side of the book is based on an econometric study of the determinants of FDI in Africa as well as a detailed firm-level survey conducted in 2000. Introduction....Pages 1-4 On Global Economic Growth and the Challenge Facing Africa....Pages 7-36 Catching-Up, Falling-Behind and the Role of FDIs....Pages 37-47 The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa....Pages 49-71 The Global Integration of Africa: The EU-SA Free Trade Agreement and German MNEs in South Africa....Pages 73-97 The Changing View of Multinational Enterprises and Africa....Pages 101-153 German Multinationals in Africa....Pages 155-196 Obstacles Facing German Enterprises in South Africa....Pages 197-207 Competitive Intelligence in a Foreign Environment: German and Canadian Firms Compared....Pages 209-225 Employment Effects of Foreign Direct Investment: A Theoretical Analysis with Heterogeneous Labour....Pages 229-245 Human Resource Development: A Sine Qua Non for Foreign Direct Investment in South Africa....Pages 247-278 Conclusions....Pages 279-284 "The challenge for African countries is how to be a more desirable destination for FDI (foreign direct investment). The study integrates three currents of economic research, namely from the literature on (endogenous) economic growth, convergence and regional integration, the explanations for Africa's poor growth and the growing understanding of the role of MNEs (multinational enterprises) in a global economy. The empirical side of the book is based on an econometric study of the determinants of FDI in Africa as well as a detailed firm-level survey conducted in 2000."--BOOK JACKET