Impact of Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth of Pakistan
Impact of Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth of Pakistan
Impact of Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth of Pakistan
Authors’ contributions
This work was carried out in collaboration between both authors. Author SS designed the study, wrote
the first draft, managed the literature review and wrote the results and discussion, while author SSM
helped in statistical analysis. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
ABSTRACT
Impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth of Pakistan has been discussed in this
paper. This paper used the data for the time period 1996 to 2015 and statistical techniques, i.e.,
correlation matrix and regression analysis have been used to see the effect of independent
variable (FDI, exports, domestic capital, index of human capital and No. of terrorist attacks) on the
dependent variable GDP. The result shows that there is a significant relationship between foreign
direct investment and gross domestic product of the country. Other independent variables like
exports, domestic capital, Index of human capital and No. of terrorist attacks also affects the
economic development of the country. Expanded exports, more domestic capital and good human
capital support the economic growth and government should try to eradicate terrorism for attracting
more foreign investment.
Keywords: Exports; domestic capital; no. of terrorist attacks; FDI; GDP; index of human capital;
Pakistan.
exchange rate and Government policies, but the buying power that accelerates the economic
rate of GDP is mostly affected by foreign development of the country.
investment. When foreign investment comes in a
country, it means business flourishes in that International free trade increases the export of
country by producing more goods and services local products in international market, thus the
which rises the GDP level of that country [3]. FDI production of local industries increases on a
is not only fruitful for poor countries, but also for large scale which shows a significant impact on
developed countries, the main reason for the economic development of Pakistan [12].
investing in developing countries is profit. Many studies have been done to see the positive
impact of economic growth and FDIs such as
In case of Pakistan, although the country blessed [13] but some studies show that the impact of
with natural resources, but unluckily inflows of economic growth and FDIs are negative such as
FDI are very low due to terrorism and political [14].
instability [4]. According to Economic survey in
fiscal year 2017-18 per capita income of the Rationale of study
country increased, but not as per target and most
of the population lives below the poverty line. The objective of this study is to identify the
The purpose of macroeconomic policy makers to impact of foreign direct investment on economic
formulate the policies to reduce the effect of growth in Pakistan over the period of 1996 to
inflation in the country and to attract foreign 2015 and to determine how the economy of
funds in the country which help in reducing the Pakistan has been affected by foreign direct
poverty [5]. Developing countries are interested investment during that period.
and tried to attract foreign investment [6]. Since
its independence in 1947, Pakistan tried to Statement of Problem
attract foreign investment by introducing changes
in trade policies such as modifications in trade How foreign direct investment has affected the
policies, concessions in direct and indirect taxes, economic growth of Pakistan?
tariff reduction and credit facilities for investors.
Currency exchange rate and more incentives and 1.1 Background
protection for investors proved to be a plus point,
but the political condition of the country can’t be To increase the rate of capital formation high
ignored, which always effects the inflows of FDI level of saving and investment is required, but
because the new ruling party brought novel this is not possible in developing countries,
changes in policies [7]. domestic saving always remains below the
desired level because of low per capita income
Foreign direct investment not only provides [15]. To fill this gap between saving and
financing, but also delivers many benefits to the investment FDI is a crucial tool that can increase
country, e.g. transfer of technology, human foreign capital inflows. Government of Pakistan
capital, the creation of a good business tries to develop liberal policies to overcome trade
environment and development of international barriers and encourage investors for
trade. The inflows of foreign investment from investments. In Pakistan, the history of FDI
developing countries are a reason of transfer of showed that from 1976 to 1981 foreign investors
advanced technology from developed countries started their investment in Pakistan, but after that
to Pakistan [8]. This transfer of technology it has been declining till 1987. In early 1990s,
compels the local firm to adopt modern Government of Pakistan started economic
technologies that maximizes the production by restructuring to develop business activities and
using scarce resources [9]. Adaptation of attract investors [16] because of this foreign
innovative technology creates a good business investment increased from 1988 -1997 but after
environment in the sense of promoting that due to Pakistan nuclear test and Kargil war
competition among enterprises which also boosts with India it did not maintain its momentum and
the economy of the country. FDI has a significant went down in 1998-2001. Then again FDI in
effect on human capital and can attach the more Pakistan slightly went down after the incident of
inflow of FDI [10]. FDIs also influence the job 9/11 in 2001 due to supporting the war against
market when new businesses come into Pakistan terrorism till 2004. The momentum of foreign
it creates more job opportunities for unemployed investment inflows raised from 2008 till now 2017
people [11]. They paid high wages and except few years.
empowered them to enhance their living
standard. Increase in income leads to more
2
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
1.2 Research Objectives different variables and how the GDP of Pakistan
is affected by the terrorist attack.
To analyses that does economic growth in
Pakistan depends upon FDI. The best way to attain economic growth is FDI
To explore the trend of FDI in last two [19]. According to some researchers FDI is only
decades. fuel for the economic upswing in developing
To identify GDP has an association with countries [20]. Different studies have been done
FDI. to support the relationship between the FDI and
Recommendations for Government for economic growth which are as under:
attracting more FDI in Pakistan.
[21] studied the panel data in a group of 70
1.3 Research Questions developing and developed countries from 1998-
2002 by using Generalized Method of Moments
to identify the impact of FDI on financial
Does the FDI affect the GDP of the
development and economic growth. They
country?
concluded that in developing countries the effect
What is the relationship between GDP and
of FDI on economic growth is negative and
FDI?
significant. The result of the study supported the
notion that low level of development of financial
1.4 Significance of this Study sectors in developing countries and weak rules
and regulations that leads towards
Since independence in 1947, Pakistan has misappropriate distribution of private capital
attracted much investment in the country; by badly affect the economic performance of the
formulating liberal policies that will attract more country.
investors and will give a proper chance to local
investors to participate in the development of the [22] investigated the effect of FDI on import and
country’s economy. This study creates export of Pakistan by using the technique of co-
awareness among the reader about the integration and error correction the study was
importance of FDI in the economic development conducted considering the period from 1973-
of Pakistan. This study will show FDI’s 2002. The result showed that in short and long
consequence on economy of Pakistan during run influence of FDI on import is positive and FDI
1996-2015. Pakistan faces a lot of issues like has a negative effect on export in the short run
nuclear test, Kargil war with India, war on but in long run export positively affected by FDI.
terrorism and political instability during that
period which has affected its economy badly and [23] studied the effect of foreign capital inflows
brought a fiscal crisis in the country. The aim of on economic growth in Pakistan. The study was
this study to see that how FDI and economic conducted by considering the period from 1981-
growth of Pakistan is affected due to these 2010 by using the technique of multiple
issues. regression analysis on variables FDI, GDP,
remittance and external debt. The study showed
2. LITERATURE REVIEW that the economic growth of the country is
positively affected by these variables.
Foreign direct investment is defined as “An
increase in the book value of the net worth of The effect of FDI on GDP of Pakistan, studied by
investment of one country held by the investor of [14] during the period from 1980 to 2006 using
another country where the investments are under the technique of least square method, the study
the managerial control of the investor" [17]. From showed that the GDP of the country is not
last 20 years in the entire world the total volume affected by FDI.
of FDI has been increased [18] in which the
South Asian, East Asian and Southeast Asian [24] studied the impact of FDI on economic
countries are the main destination for growth of Pakistan by using the technique of
investments. To verify the relationship of FDI and autoregressive distributed lag error correction
economic growth lot of studies have been done model. Variables used for this study were GDP
which show that relationship of FDI and per capital, FDI, gross capital formation,
economic growth either positive, negative or no population, inflation and trade. The study
significant relationship between them. The covered the data from 1966-2014 and concluded
purpose of this study is to identify the impact of that in the long and short run there is positive
FDI on economic growth of Pakistan by using relationship between FDI and economic growth
3
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
of the country. [13] Studied the effect of FDI and goods and services which ultimately raise the
trade openness on economic growth in Pakistan. price of good and services. [27] studied the
The study was conducted by considering the impact of FDI and consumer price index on
period from 2008 to 2013. The result showed that economic growth of the SAARC member of a
trade openness, domestic capital and FDI have a nation, the data belongs to the years 2001-2010.
positive impact on economic growth. The conclusion of the study was that economic
growth and FDI of countries has a positive
The relationship of foreign remittance, FDI, association while it showed that FDI and the
imports and economic growth were investigated consumer price index has negative relationship.
by [25]. The study conducted by considering the This result was concluded by using multiple
period of 1977 to 2013 by using the time series regression analysis.
econometric technique and it revealed that
foreign remittance and FDI positively affect the 2.1 Theoretical Framework
economy.
The objective of this paper is to study the impact
The relationship of FDI and GDP in Pakistan is of FDI on economic growth of Pakistan, where
studied by [26] where GDP is used as dependent economic growth is dependent variable and
variable and labor force, domestic capital and foreign capital, terrorist attack, domestic capital,
FDI are used as independent variables and the human capital and export are independent
result showed that in the long run and in the variables. These variables have already been
short run the link between FDI and GDP is studied in different researches in the context of
positive. Government tries to attract more FDI for Pakistan, but contribution of this study is the
the economic progress of the country. selection of that specific time period which
affected the Pakistani economy in different ways
FDI creates more jobs which increase the like nuclear test war with neighbor countries and
income of people, because of more income economic slump after 9/11. The relationship
consumption expenditure rises. More between dependent and independent variables is
consumption expenditure leads towards more shown as under:
4
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
5
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
6
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
200
100
0
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
GDP Billion $
Exports Billion $
40
30
20
10
0
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Export Billion $
7
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
FDI Billion $
6
0
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
FDI Billion $
Foreign Direct Investment: Foreign investment Domestic Capital: Domestic capital is the main
is a crucial indicator for the economic source of sustainable economic growth.
development of the host country. It allows the Domestic capital of Pakistan was at its
more capital inflow in the country and creates peak in 2015 with the amount of $42.4 billion and
more opportunities in the country. Foreign was its lowest point in 1999 amounting $9.8
investment in Pakistan shows an upward trend in billion.
2004 and goes down in 2012. Again in 2013
foreign investment shows an upward trend, but Index of Human Capital per Person: Educated,
again in 2015 it goes down. The highest value of trained and skillful workforce can increase the
foreign direct investment in 2007 which is $ 5.44 productivity and can be the reason of economic
billion and the lowest in 2000 which is $ 0.31 growth. According to FRED economic data
billion. Human Capital per Person Index of Pakistan was
8
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
at its lowest value 1.46 in 1996 which increased country’s economy. Terrorism also increases the
continuously till 2005 and remained stable till government spendings and reduces the foreign
2015. investments consequently GDP of the country
goes down. According to statistics of terrorism
Number of Terrorist Attacks: Terrorism has a data base incidents of terrorism escalated from
negative effect on the development of the 2006 to 2013.
1.5
0.5
0
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
9
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
10
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
Model R R square Adjusted R square Std. Error of the estimate R square change
a
1 .998 .996 .994 5.33528 .996
Predictors: (Constant), Exports, FDI, Terrorist Attacks,
Index of Human Capital per Person, Domestic Capital
The role of FDI in shaping the economy of the The result of the study not only show the impact
country is very obvious. This paper shows the of variables on GDP, but also provides new
impact of FDI on the economic growth of the direction for current and potential prospective
Pakistan from 1996-2015. In the literature review investors for foreign investment, but also gives
most of the studies show that there is positive new direction to policy makers to make policies
and significant relationship between FDI and according to the situation faced by Pakistan.
economic growth of the country. In this paper, it Potential investors can analysis the economic
is also revealed that there is positive relationship situation and Government policies for further
of FDI on economic growth of the country, but it investment. Exports, human capital and
is also shown that not only FDI but other domestic capital are all increasing during 1996-
variables is also important for the economic 2015 which is a good sign for foreign investors to
growth of the country. For economic growth, invest in the country. The increasing trend in
exports of the country are also noteworthy, exports shows more economic activities and
exports show an increasing trend during selected human capital shows that human resources
time period 1996- 2015 which shows that exports are at full utilization and will give maximum
also participate in accelerating the economic output.
activities of the country. Domestic capital is also
important factor and shows that it boost the Pakistan faces a tough situation in term of
economy of the country. Proper and maximum terrorist attacks from 2006 to 2014, but after that
utilization of human capital boosts the economy government devise policies and overcome this
of the country. Graph 5 shows the index of problem which will attract foreign investment.
human capital and it demonstrates that it Peace and harmony in society are also important
continuously increases from 196 to 2015. The for attracting foreign investment. Now
number of terrorist attacks has an inverse effect terrorist activities are under control in Pakistan
11
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
for future government should ensure that Journal of Business and Management.
they will not overspend on anti-terrorism Vols. 2019;VII(1).
activities and spend more economic growth of 11. Brincikova, Darmo. The impact of FDI
the country. inflow on employment in V4 countries.
European Scientific Journal; 2014.
COMPETING INTERESTS 12. T. N. S. a. K. D. P. Shib Sankar Jana, How
far is FDI relevant to India’s foreign trade
Authors have declared that no competing growth? An empirical investigation. Journal
interests exist. of Economic Structures; 2020.
13. Malik, Naseem. Impact of Foreign direct
investment on economic growth of
REFERENCES
Pakistan. American Journal of Business
and Management. 2015;4(4):190-202.
1. Hodrab R, Maitah M, Kuzmenko E. The 14. Falki N. Impact of foreign direct investment
effect of foreign direct investment on on economic growth in Pakistan.
economic growth: Case study Palestine; International Review of Business Research
2015. Papers. 2009;5(5):110-120.
2. Tamar Baiashvili LG. Impact of FDI on 15. Khan MA. Foreign direct investment and
economic growth: The role of country economic growth: the role of domestic
income levels. EIB Economics financial sector (No. 2007: 18). Pakistan
Department; 2020. Institute of Economic Development; 2007.
3. Nichanant Sermsri WM. The impact of 16. Tilat Anwar. Impact of globalization and
inflation, investment, population and FDI liberalization on growth, employment and
on economic growth through supply chain poverty: A case study of Pakistan. World
performance in pharmaceutical sector of Institution for Development Economics;
Thailand. A Multifaceted Review Journal in 2002.
the Field of Pharmacy; 2020. 17. Graham E. Foreign direct investment in the
4. Rabia Najaf, Khakan Najaf. Importance of world economy. IMF World Economic and
FDI on the growth of Pakistan and Financial Survey; 1995.
Armenia. Social Science Learning 18. Hills C. International Business: Competing
Education Journal; 2016. in the global marketplace, McGraw-Hill
5. XHaHs. Muhammad Bilal Khan. Direct International Edition; 2007.
impact of inflow of foreign direct 19. Lee & Tcha. The color of money: The
investment on poverty reduction in effect of foreign direct investment on
Pakistan: A bonds testing approach. economic growth in transition economies.
Economic Research-Ekonomska Review of World Economics. 2004;140(2):
Istraživanja. 2019;32. 211-229.
6. Lonnatos. The purpose of industrial 20. Borensztein E, Gregorio JD, Lee JW. How
development and alternative development does foreign direct investment affect
strategies. International Finance. 2004; economic growth? Journal of International
141-148. Economics. 1998;45(1):115-135.
7. Khan, Kim. Foreign direct investment in 21. Choong, Lam. Financial development and
Pakistan: Policy issues and operational economic growth: Panel Data Analysis.
implications. Economic Staff Paper Report; Journal of Applied Economics; 2011.
1999. 22. Yousuf MM, Hussain Z, Ahmad N.
8. Nadia Urriola Canchari MOMaXD. The Economic evaluation of foreign direct
impact of Chinese Foreign Direct investment in Pakistan. Pakistan Economic
Investment on economic growth of Peru. and Social Review. 2008;46(1):37-57.
Latin American Journal of Trade Policy. 23. Aurangzeb, Haq. Impact of foreign capital
2020;3. inflows on economic growth in Pakistan.
9. Khaliq, Noy. Foreign direct investment and European Journal of Economics, Finance
economic growth: Empirical evidence from and Administrative Sciences. 2012;46(6).
sectoral data in Indonesia. Journal of 24. Javaid W. Impact of foreign direct
Economic Literature; 2007. investment on economic growth of
10. Hykmete Bajrami NZ. Theories of foreign Pakistan-An ARDL-ECM approach; 2016.
direct investment (FDI) and the 25. Tahir M, Khan I, Shah AM. Foreign
significance of human capital. International remittances, foreign direct investment,
12
Sohail and Mirza; AJEFM, 2(3): 1-13, 2020; Article no.AJEFM.216
13