The Good, Bad and Ugly

Imad A. Moosa

Chapter 9 in Understanding the Geopolitics of Foreign Direct Investment, 2026, pp 212-230 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter is about the identification of the good, bad and ugly sides of FDI. The good side of FDI is represented by the perceived and actual benefits brought about by foreign direct investors to the host country. It turns out that the perceived advantages of FDI may or may not materialise for a variety of good reasons. The bad side is represented by the adverse effects on wages, profit repatriation, market dominance, cultural and social impacts, and dependency on foreign capital. FDI has a dark side because it has been used as tool of colonial domination, because it has adverse environmental effects, and because it involves exploitation of labour, corruption and tax evasion. A comparison between the Chinese and Western approaches to FDI is presented.

Keywords: Technology transfer; Employment effect; Balance of payments effect; Productivity effect; Inter-industry linkages; Market structure; Profit repatriation; Colonial domination; Tax evasion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035361526
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