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The Political Economy of U.S. Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America: A Reappraisal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

John P. Tuman  and
Craig F. Emmert
John P. Tuman
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Craig F. Emmert
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University, Lubbock
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Abstract

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This study examines the political and economic determinants of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America. The analysis focuses on fifteen Latin American and Caribbean countries for the period of 1979 to 1996. Market size, workers' skill levels, and political instability are found to have a statistically significant effect on the investment behavior of U.S. multinational firms. In addition, we find that a poor human rights record and military coups d'etat positively influenced U.S. FDI flows during the time series.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , 2004 , pp. 9 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the University of Texas Press

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