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Incentives to Create Jobs: Regional Subsidies, National Trade Policy and Foreign Direct Investment

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  • Régibeau, P
  • Rockett, K
  • Adams, L
Abstract
A national authority wishes to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to create local jobs. We analyse the optimal national trade policy faced with the possibility that local authorities might offer subsidies to convince a multi-national enterprise (MNE) to invest in their jurisdiction. With centralised decision-making or with allocation of investment to particular localities, the central authority's optimal policy is to use a high tariff to avoid payment of any subsidy to the MNE. Despite this, some socially undesirable (but locally desirable) FDI cannot be avoided. If local authorities compete to offer subsidies to attract local investment, then the central government's optimal policy is to try to discourage FDI by choosing a low tariff. Again, despite this some socially undesirable - and even locally undesirable - FDI prevails. We conduct our analysis both assuming an upper bound on tariffs, as would be consistent with trade liberalisation, and allowing tariffs to vary freely. The effect of this trade liberalisation depends heavily on the system of granting local subsidies: if the system is rather centralised, trade liberalisation decreases the range of parameters for which FDI occurs; if the system is decentralised and competitive, it increases this range.

Suggested Citation

  • Régibeau, P & Rockett, K & Adams, L, 2012. "Incentives to Create Jobs: Regional Subsidies, National Trade Policy and Foreign Direct Investment," Economics Discussion Papers 2862, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:esx:essedp:2862
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Gautier, 2017. "Foreign direct investment under fiscal interdependence when policy is set unilaterally," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 579-599, October.
    2. Gao, Fugang & Ma, Xianlei & van der Krabben, Erwin & Ploegmakers, Huub & Shi, Xiaoping, 2022. "Causes of industrial land-use regulations in China: A share tenancy perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    3. Adams, Laurel & Régibeau, Pierre & Rockett, Katharine, 2014. "Incentives to create jobs: Regional subsidies, national trade policy and foreign direct investment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 102-119.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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