Conference paper
EMPRICAL EVIDENCE ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IMPACT UPON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE REPULIC OF MACEDONIA
Irena Kikerkova
orcid.org/0000-0002-8394-8504
; Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Department of International Trade, Faculty of Economics – Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Abstract
In regard of indicators on positive business climate and hospitability for foreign investors, last year the World Bank ranked Macedonia on the 23rd place out of 183 countries in the world (World Bank, 2013). Other reports of eminent world organizations and institutions ranked the country on fairly good position in the world economy as one of the fastest reforming countries able to control the level of foreign debt. Nevertheless, during the last two decades the economy has never experienced real economic growth. Hence, with GDP of less than 10 billion USD, Macedonia happens to be one of the poorest countries in Europe. Despite all of the efforts of the Government to attract foreign investment, the economy recorded only 4.382 billion American dollars of FDI stocks at the end of 2012 (www.nbrm.mk). Due to the very limited domestic market, poor infrastructure and low consumption potential, foreign investors were attracted only to those industries which were in a position of a natural monopoly on the market. Trying to maximize their profits, they were not interested in investing in new technologies or in creation of export platforms for placing the realized output to the Western markets. Through analysis of all available and official statistical data in the Republic of Macedonia, this article will try to analyze the structure of the attracted FDI in the country their effects upon the total industrial output, the restructuring of the economy, the creation of new jobs and decrement of the unemployment rate, as well as upon the competitiveness and the export potential of the country. Finally, it would try to identify the major causes for the up-to date recorded poor results.
Keywords
Republic of Macedonia; foreign direct investment; economic restructuring
Hrčak ID:
161417
URI
Publication date:
27.9.2013.
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