Foreign direct investment and productivity in Brazilian industrial sectors

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the impact of foreign direct investment on the productivity of 22 sectors of the Brazilian industry, from 1996 to 2008. Using data from the Industrial Annual Survey (PIA-IBGE) on variation in companies’ assets, and administrative data (all formal workers) from the Brazilian Labor Ministry (Rais-MTE) on employees’ schooling, we build physical and human capital controls at sectoral level. These controls allow us to isolate the specific impact of foreign direct investment on sectoral total factor productivity. Our results suggest that the impact of foreign direct investment may be negative in the short run, but is positive in the long run.