Determinants of FDI-induced externalities: New empirical evidence for Mexican manufacturing industries

SummaryThis paper presents new statistical evidence on foreign direct investment (FDI)-induced externalities in Mexican manufacturing industries for 1993. The new empirical results are important in three respects. First, the size of technological differences between FDI and Mexican firms is positively related to positive externalities, indicating the importance of sufficient scope of potential externalities, incentives to make externality-facilitating investments and the absence of negative competition effects. Second, geographical concentration is identified as a structural determinant of positive FDI externalities. Finally, the effect from FDI cleared from the influence of technological differences and agglomeration is the creation of positive externalities, especially when endogeneity of the foreign participation variable is controlled for.