Foreign Direct Investment as a Vehicle for Deploying Cleaner Technologies

Résumé du livre

The central purpose of this research is to investigate the extent to which international technology transfer through foreign direct investment (FDI) is an effective mechanism for the deployment of cleaner technologies in developing countries. This dissertation provides three empirical case studies of Beijing Jeep, Shanghai GM, and Chang'An Ford based on dozens of interviews in the U.S. and China. The main findings are that: (1) U.S. firms transferred outdated automotive pollution-control technologies to China; (2) U.S. FDI helped to deploy somewhat cleaner automotive technologies, but their potential environmental benefit is being outweighed by having so many more vehicles on the road; (3) automotive technologies that were transferred were not necessarily updated in tandem with updates made to equivalent foreign models; and, (4) U.S. firms did not strongly contribute to improving Chinese automotive technological capabilities because little knowledge was transferred along with the product. Finally, one further implication from this study is that there appear to be limits to leapfrogging to substantially cleaner automotive technologies through technology transfer from foreign firms. These barriers can be overcome through international investment rules, U.S. and Chinese government policy, and the goodwill of foreign firms, but probably most effectively by Chinese regulations.