The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Developing Economies and the Environment

This article is about the impact of foreign direct investment on developing economies and the environment. All of us that are concerned about the environment should ask ourselves if the increase in capital mobility associated with the world-wide process of liberalization, deregulation and privatization, known as the Neo-liberal global regime, has contributed to the problems of higher emissions, ozone layer destruction, and pollution of water sources, as well as to create false economic bubbles that lead to increased consumption in these regions whilst forcing the destruction of the environment by the poor in order to survive and cope with the roles their society demands. Neo-liberal practices such as those enforced in developing countries like Colombia, while seeking to attract foreign investment to push their economies, tend to generate a false aggregated demand growth that in most cases is not sustainable in the long term, increases global unemployment, unleash destructive competitive processes and weaken government's ability to regulate business in the citizens best interests.