Trade, foreign direct investment and economic growth in Asian economies

Despite the increasing role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in economic development, very limited research has been carried out on the causal links between trade, FDI and economic growth in Asian economies. This study examines empirically the inter-play between exports, imports, FDI and economic growth for nine Asian economies by conducting multivariate causality tests in the vector error correction model (VECM) framework. The results reveal two-way causal connections between trade, inward FDI, inward merger and acquisitions (MAs) and growth for most of the sample economies. There is a unidirectional causal link running from outward MAs to growth and trade. These findings suggest that export expansion, import liberalization, FDI inflows and inward MAs are integral elements of the growth process in Asian economies.