Assessing variations in foreign direct investments under international financial reporting standards (IFRS) adoption, macro-socioeconomic developments and credit ratings

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of an endogenous relationship between international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and sovereign credit ratings on the factors that determine foreign direct investments, by using an instrumental variable panel data framework. The results show that the adoption of IFRS by developed economies is interpreted by credit rating agencies as a positive sign that the firms will provide more transparent financial reports. In addition, the authors find that the consideration of the endogenous relationship between IFRS and credit ratings for developed economies highlights the importance of some variables that was not evident previously such as the degree of corruption and the educational level. Finally, the authors suggest that foreign direct investments are more easily attracted when one considers a joint factor which captures people’s perceptions about the ability of the government to implement policy and regulations that promote the development of public and private sector. Keywords: credit ratings, IFRS, FDI determinants. JEL Classification: C23, C26, M41, E51