Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis in Democratic and Non-Democratic Eras

Abstract

The chief objective of this research is to investigate empirically the determinants which affect Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow in Democratic and non-Democratic eras of Pakistan by using yearly data from 1980 -2014. In this research, six independent variables have been taken along with Dummy which are Gross Domestic Product, Interest Rate, Trade Openness, Inflation Rate, Exchange rate, Dummy variable and one dependant variable which is Foreign Direct Investment. For econometric analysis, annual time series data were collected from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, UNCTAD, World Development Indicator (various issues), International Financial Statistics, Global Economy and Economic Survey of Pakistan. This thesis applied advanced econometric methodology which comprises unit root testing and Johansen co-integration analysis. The Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was employed to identify both the long-run and short run relationship between FDI and its determinants. The dummy variable captured the difference as there is a significant difference between the determinants of Foreign direct investment in Democratic and Non-Democratic eras of Pakistan.