Yackee: The Effects of Democracy on the Foreign Direct Investment Policy Environment

Jason W. Yackee (Univ. of Wisconsin - Law) has posted The Effects of Democracy on the Foreign Direct Investment Policy Environment. Here's the abstract:

In recent years social scientists have begun exploring the links between democracy and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI). Researchers have spent somewhat less time examining the relationship between democracy and the kinds of FDI policies that may be thought to more directly drive investment decisions. In this Research Note I present a semiparametric statistical analysis of the relationship between democracy and a variety of subjective indicators of the FDI policy environment, including expert perceptions of expropriation risk. My analysis suggests a relationship that is both weaker and more nuanced than might be implied by the existing literature. Marginal increases in democracy appear to be a relatively poor predictor of FDI policy.