Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Semester of Degree Completion
2017
Thesis Director
Noel Brodsky
Abstract
This study examines the literature on how trade, foreign direct investments, and infrastructure development affect economic growth of selected developed and developing economies. A comparative analysis will be carried between developed economies (G7 countries) represented by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States while the developing economies (BRICS countries) are represented by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The comparative analysis will be carried between years 1985 to 2015. In addition, the paper will establish the relationship between trade and economic growth in both developing and developed economies. Furthermore, the paper will establish that trade variables in both developed and developing economies is captured in three indicators namely, the sum of exports and imports to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the ratio of imports to the GDP and the ratio of exports to GDP.
This study utilizes a panel data approach to form and capture the threshold effect between economic growth and trade. Moreover, the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth will be analyzed. The research will depict that trade and FDI are expressed as the ratio of GDP in both developed and developing economies. In addition, the co-relation between the FDIs and the GDP rate is inherent to the volume of investments brought into the host country. Moreover, the relationship between infrastructure represented as GCF and economic development in both developing and developed economies will be discussed by this proposal. The proposal will establish that infrastructure outputs such as power, transport, and water are used as production inputs in productive sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture, therefore forming a close relationship between GDP and infrastructure. The study will conclude by establishing the relationship of the three variables (trade liberation, FDI and infrastructure spending) in economic development in both developed (G7 economies) and developing economies (BRICS economies).
Recommended Citation
Alwafi, Yasser M., "Trade Openness, Foreign Direct Investment and Infrastructure Spending: A Comparative Analysis of Their Common Role in the Economic Development Between Selected Developed and Developing Economies" (2017). Masters Theses. 3300.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/3300
