AIR POLLUTION AND OUTWARD FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT - A CROSS-COUNTRY EMPIRICAL STUDY

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of air pollution in foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows. Using PM2.5 concentration as an index of air pollution and a panel data of 102 economies from 2011 to 2020, several specifications of a dynamic panel spatial autoregressive model justified by several diagnostic tests and that considers the potential endogeneity problem have been estimated. The primary finding is that air pollution has a positive impact on a country's FDI outflows. It is also found that air pollution is a more important and robust factor affecting outward investment than the effective corporate tax rate, political risk and the level of economic development. Moreover, outward FDI exhibits a positive spatial dependence among countries and regions and has a positive dynamic process. All these conclusions are consistent with our expectations and are robust for different model specifications.