What drives China’s outward FDI? A regional analysis

Abstract

Our study examines home drivers of China’s regional outward FDI. We propose a theoretical framework that incorporates an extended Investment Development Path (IDP) theory, home locational constraints, policy incentives and geographic factors. Empirically, we employ the Bayesian Averaging Maximum Likelihood Estimates method to address model uncertainty. All proposed theories (except for geographic aspects) are found to provide important perspectives explaining China’s regional outward FDI. Our results highlight the importance of government policies but do not support the original IDP hypothesis that outward investment is automatically generated as income grows. Our findings have implications for both regional and central-government policy.