Article

 

The Implications of the shift towards services in Multinationals’ activities: evidence from the Greek case (p.81-105)

by

Fragkiskos Filippaios, Hellenic Observatory, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science (London, UK)

Keywords : Foreign Direct Investment, Services, Greece, Multinational Enterprises

JEL classification : F02, F21, F23

Abstract

Greece has been a traditional recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) since the early 1950s. The country constitutes an excellent example of how a small, open but peripheral economy, gradually changes according to the process of economic development. The paper’s main target is dual: First to provide a comprehensive description of Greece’s position in attracting FDI today and second to explain the location determinants of the structural change in Greek inward foreign investments from manufacturing to services. Whilst in the late eighties, inward investments mainly targeted the manufacturing sector, Greece nowadays attracts primarily FDI in services such as financial intermediation, real estate etc. Traditional factors attracting FDI seem to dominate the international investors’ decisions as well as capital productivity and labour costs on the sectoral level, these are significant influences when investing in Greece. The paper concludes by offering interesting policy implications.