From R&D policy to deregulation of the telecommunications and financial service sectors, there is a growing movement
to use foreign investors in the United States as a tool to open markets abroad. This volume brings together for the first time leaders from the business, research, and policy communities to examine whether this shift away from an open door makes economic sense. It also includes a statistical appendix on the economic role of foreign investment, a review of policy trends, and a listing of existing investment obligations and
multilateral mechanisms. The editor is a research fellow at AEI. A summary of the book follows.
Transnational investment flows increasingly drive economic growth and serve as the primary means for supplying a foreign market. Over the past decade, for example, annual foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows have increased twice as fast as has world trade. Yet, unlike trade, few multilateral rules on investment exist. Breaking down the barriers to transnational investment flows thus represents the next major step for expanding the global trading system. But there is a growing debate over how this should be accomplished