The determinants of Foreign Direct Investments attraction in Portugal and Spain: A comparative analysis

Double Degree. A Work Project presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Master Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics and a Master Degree in Business Engineering from Louvain School of Management

This paper analyzed the determinants of the net Foreign Direct Investments inflows in Portugal and Spain; two countries chosen for their historical and geographical closeness. The study included a large set of macroeconomic, institutional and locational variables. The dataset is composed by yearly data points covering the period 1984-2012. Using regressions in first differences, the paper concluded to the significance of unit labor costs, openness to trade, political stability and socioeconomic conditions for Portugal. As for Spain, market size and European Union GDP growth played a significant role.

NSBE - UNL