A strict interpretation of the Ricardian assumptions on international trade leads to a conclusion in favour of the impossibility of a firm investing abroad. Even extending the Ricardian model by including capital among the factors of production, it has to be supposed that, from a purely economic and financial perspective, the choice between directly investing abroad and not doing so is totally indifferent. It is the existence of imperfections in the real and/or financial markets that give rise to the convenience for a firm to exploit its competitive advantages through foreign direct investment (FDI).
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