Political stability and foreign direct investment inflows in 25 Asia-Pacific countries: the moderating role of trade openness

This article analyzes how trade openness and political stability affect foreign direct investment (FDI) in 25 Asia-Pacific countries from 1990 to 2020. This study employs the dynamic system Generalized Method of Moments to mitigate the heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation issues. We also perform the Johnson-Neyman test to examine whether trade openness moderates the relationship between political stability and FDI. Our findings show that trade openness positively affects FDI, while political stability has a negative effect. Noticeably, the Johnson-Neyman test indicates that Trade Openness moderates the relationship between political stability and FDI in Asia-Pacific nations. Trade openness and its moderating role remained robust before the 2008 financial crisis. The impacts of trade openness and political stability on FDI persist in non-tax-heaven countries. Our findings align with market-seeking, efficiency, resource-seeking, and regulatory risk theories. Finally, these findings are helpful for policymakers to attract FDI projects sustainably across the Asia-Pacific region.

Ai Ngoc Nhan Le, Ha Pham, Dung Thi Ngoc Pham, Khoa Dang Duong