AIR POLLUTION AND OUTWARD FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT — A CROSS-COUNTRY EMPIRICAL STUDY

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of air pollution in foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows. Using PM[Formula: see text] concentration as an index of air pollution and a panel data of 102 economies from 2011 to 2020, several specifications of a dynamic panel spatial autoregressive model justified by several diagnostic tests and that considers the potential endogeneity problem have been estimated. The primary finding is that air pollution has a positive impact on a country’s FDI outflows. It is also found that air pollution is a more important and robust factor affecting outward investment than the effective corporate tax rate, political risk and the level of economic development. Moreover, outward FDI exhibits a positive spatial dependence among countries and regions and has a positive dynamic process. All these conclusions are consistent with our expectations and are robust for different model specifications.