FDI and Absorptive Capacity Panel Data for 120 Countries

This dataset supports a research paper analyzing the interaction between foreign direct investment (FDI) and national absorptive capacities on economic growth. It uses panel data covering approximately 120 countries over five decades. The analysis examines four policy-relevant capacities: human capital, financial development, trade openness, and institutional quality.

Use Cases

• Estimate interaction effects between FDI and trade openness on economic growth using panel data econometrics.
• Analyze the heterogeneity in the FDI-growth nexus explained by time-invariant country fundamentals.
• Model the impact of human capital, financial development, and institutional quality as absorptive capacities for FDI benefits.
• Replicate the study's findings on the threshold where FDI becomes growth-enhancing for different countries.

Strengths

• Panel data covering approximately 120 countries, providing a broad cross-country perspective.
• Temporal coverage spans five decades, enabling long-term trend and structural break analysis.
• Focus on four specific, policy-relevant absorptive capacities: human capital, financial development, trade openness, and institutional quality.

Limitations

• Specific column names, sample data, and dataset size are unknown, limiting detailed reproducibility.
• The dataset is tied to a specific research paper's methodology, which may constrain alternative analytical approaches.
• Data may be aggregated at the country-year level, lacking sub-national or firm-level granularity.

Provenance

Source

Groningen Growth and Development Centre Research Memoranda series, paper number 200.

Collection Method

Harvested from DataverseNL; original compilation method for the panel data is not specified.

Time Range

Five decades (specific years not provided).

Freshness

Last updated metadata indicates 2026-02-23, suggesting recent maintenance.

Geography

Approximately 120 countries worldwide.