1、PDF外文：http:/ 外 文 翻 译 原文： Foreign investment and development: the role of domestic policy and international investment agreements All developing countries participate, to greater or lesser degrees, in the global competition for foreign investment. But attracting
2、 investment is not the only challenge. Harnessing foreign investment to achieve sustainable development is often even more difficult. What is needed to address these twin challenges varies from one country to the next. This article argues that for most developing countries creating the right domesti
3、c policy environment is necessary but, for some countries at least, will not be sufficient to attract investment or ensure that it contributes to development. New kinds of international investment agreements (IIA) that do a better job of promoting more stable investment flows and supporting sustaina
4、ble development are needed. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into developing countries increased significantly in 2006, reaching US$379.1 billion, their highest ever levels. The percentage of global investment inflows going to developing countries in 2006 exceeded their average annual percentag
5、e share from 1995-2000, though their share declined slightly to 29 per cent, down from 33.2 per cent in 2005, due to even faster rates of increase in investment flows into developed countries. FDI inflows are critically important for growth. Since 1994, FDI has represented the largest component of t
6、otal resource flows into developing countries exceeding inflows from other private sources, such as loans and portfolio investment, and public sources, such as overseas development assistance (ODA). FDI exceeded 51 percent of total resource flows to developing countries in 2006. Unfortunately, this
7、apparently rosy global picture masks significant challenges for developing countries seeking to realize the benefits of FDI. FDI flows to developing countries are unstable and unevenly distributed FDI has been concentrated in a relatively small number of countries, mostly in Asia, including Singapor
8、e, India and Malaysia. In many African countries and less developed countries (LDC) around the world, ODA remains the largest source of external finance. Recent investment activity, driven by the search for new resource wealth, has passed some countries by entirely. A closer look at the major region
9、al groupings of developing countries confirms the uneven distribution of foreign investment activity. For example, FDI inflows increased in 2006 in 33 African countries but fell in 21.Inflows increased in all regions on the continent except southern Africa, where inflows declined, including in Commo
10、nwealth members Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa. Over the past decade the stock of foreign investment, a much more stable measure than investment flows, at least doubled in 3/4 of African Commonwealth countries, but some countries have seen their stocks of foreign investment decl
11、ine, including Botswana and Zambia. Looking across the globe, similar diversity exists. Some developing countries experienced substantial increases in investment inflows in 2006 and an increase in investment stocks over time. But investment inflows into Oceania declined by 11 per cent in 2006 and th
12、e stocks of FDI in the small states in this region have fluctuated widely. The stock of FDI in Fiji has shrunk since 1997, while Tuvalu has experienced a massive increase. As well as being unevenly distributed, FDI flows to developing countries have been highly variable, with significant declines fo
13、llowing years of growth in 1984, 1997 and 2002. Thus while increased investment is flowing to developing countries overall, many countries have not been successful in attracting consistent inflows of FDI. Developing country FDI is concentrated in extractive industries While two-thirds of FDI worldwi
14、de is in services, investment flows into many African countries, including Commonwealth LDC such as Tanzania, Uganda and Gambia, are largely concentrated in extractive industries. In some African countries, including Nigeria, three quarters or more of the stock of FDI is in extractive industries. De
15、spite the service sector orientation of many Caribbean economies, a significant share of inward FDI stock in the region is also in extractive industries. Investment inflows in Oceania are concentrated in the mining sector. Investment in extractive industries tends to be particularly unstable compare
16、d with other FDI because it is affected by volatile global commodity prices. As well, UNCTAD has found that investment in extractive industries is more difficult for host countries to regulate to ensure compatibility with domestic standards and development goals (World Investment Report 2007). Somet
17、imes, foreign investment in extractive industries, which is dominated by transnational corporations (TNC), produces few new jobs and results in environmental degradation and social dislocation while most of the financial returns are captured off-shore. FDI unrealized contribution to development In J
18、uly 2008 the Secretary-General of the United Nations released a report that reviewed the implementation of the 2002 UN Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development. It concluded that action is needed to encourage larger and more consistent FDI flows to a broader group of developing countries and
19、 to ensure that investment activity leads to development. The need is particularly pressing for small economies which have seen growth rates decline compared to larger low- and middle-income states. Addressing this need means making developing countries more attractive to investors. All investors ma
20、ke decisions about where and when to invest based on their expectations about the future in light of their specific business strategy. Some of the factors relevant to investor decision-making are outside the control of governments. A countrys natural resource endowment is an obvious example. Neverth
21、eless, domestic policies in a host country can both improve investors expectations regarding the likely returns associated with their investments and enhance the prospect that their expectations will be realized making the country more appealing as an investment destination. In countries as diverse as India, China, Turkey and Indonesia, investment has been facilitated through domestic policy reform to protect property rights,
