Foreign direct investment: A vehicle for combatting the global economic slowdown?

Where's the line between development and destruction?

I’m excited to announce that The Developing Economist is now available via WhatsApp!

The WhatsApp channel will serve as an all inclusive platform for text, audio, and images associated with the blog. Now readers can access the blog without needing an email address. Join the channel now for free here.

---

The issue

The global economy is currently experiencing the slowest half-decade of GDP growth in 30 years. Debt servicing costs have more than quadrupled in low- and middle-income countries in the last decade. According to Indermit Gill, Chief Economist at the World Bank, developing countries will be faced with the difficult choice of either servicing their debts or investing in public goods. Consequently, Ayhan Kose, Deputy Chief Economist at the World Bank, stresses the need for “investment booms” to help mitigate the projected slowdown in growth in the remaining decade. Such foreign direct investment (FDI) may be facilitated by enhancing a country’s fiscal and monetary frameworks, trade, and overall investment climate.