Transport infrastructures, territorial management and foreign direct investment: recent evidence for MENA countries

摘要

To determine the main factors of the foreign direct investment attractiveness, almost of the economists have focused their works on the role of the traditional factors (economic and institutional). By against, the role of the transport and logistics remains marginal. In the present work, we have tried to valorise the contribution of the two factors to develop the territorial attractiveness of the FDI in the host countries. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the transport infrastructure as a new factor of the FDI attractiveness through its positive effects on the territorial management in the host country. We have used a panel data model for 12 countries over the period 2000-2014. The findings argued the important role of the traditional economic determinants of the FDI (economic openness, real exchange rate, GDP per capita...). Also, the results confirm the significant contribution of transport infrastructures and they demonstrate that the host countries can enhance their competitiveness if they develop their transport infrastructures and adopt an effective logistic function which can ameliorate the territorial management.