Introduction to FDI in Authoritarian States

States, through the actions of their political leaders, set policies that impact investment. Whether it is the level of taxation, the availability of credit, the approval of mergers or joint partnerships, or some other means, states have a variety of ways to increase or decrease the attractiveness of investment. The aim of this book, at some fundamental level, is to demonstrate that the policies toward investment that states implement matter greatly in determining how those states fare in attracting investment and to explore the reasons why some states end up implementing “better” policies than others in this regard. While foreign direct investment is only one part (albeit an important one) of the overall picture of global economic activity and development, it serves as a particularly helpful vehicle through which to explore political incentives that are more widely applicable to other types of economic policy behavior. This chapter provides an introduction to the book, laying out the key research questions and the author’s approach to studying them.