• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.35-58
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• 2020

Purpose - This study examines the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) location choice for Chinese firms, focusing on the agglomeration effect for firms of the same nationality. Design/methodology - The empirical data are China's inward FDI from the top 19 economies (excluding tax havens and Taiwan) in terms of FDI during 1997-2015 and China's outward FDI from the top 18 economies (excluding tax havens). This study uses a random effects generalized least squares model for panel data analysis. Findings - The results confirm that both host countries' costs and market conditions and the degree of agglomeration affect these countries' attractiveness for FDI inflows. Specifically, agglomeration has a significant effect on China's inward and outward FDI. This study confirms that the agglomeration of firms of the same nationality has predictive power for multinational enterprises' FDI location choices. The host countries' real GDP and trade openness also positively affect FDI inflows. Interestingly, however, China's production cost has a positive effect. Thus, inward FDI aimed at entering the Chinese market is increasing in recent years relative to the previous efficiency-seeking FDI. Inward FDI in China is therefore the market-entry type, whereas outward FDI by Chinese firms is the market-oriented type. Originality/value - These results suggest that the effects of the potential determinants of Chinese outward FDI are similar to those of inward FDI as China's trade liberalization progresses.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.111-147
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• 2019

Singapore's inward and outward investments with industrialized countries in both manufacturing and service sectors were skill seeking while outward investments to developing countries were labor seeking. Applying the Knowledge-Capital model, it was found that services Foreign Direct Investment is sensitive to skill differences. A ten-percent decline in skill differences with industrialized countries resulted in a 4.25 percent rise in inbound manufacturing and 1.48 percent rise in inbound services investments. Meanwhile, a ten-percent increase in skill differences with developing countries resulted in a 30 percent rise in outbound manufacturing and 0.38 percent rise in services investments. Furthermore, when services are distinguished by skill-intensity, the impact of relative skill endowments on inbound Foreign Direct Investment in skill-intensive services is significantly different from the impact on other services. However, when services are disaggregated by "proximity" needs, we do not find any significant difference in the impact of relative skill endowments on Foreign Direct Investment.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.391-408
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• 2009

This study first designates the factors affecting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in order to analyze the FDI in Korea, and calculates the Korean FDI index by using various designated variables and by applying Factor Analysis Technique. In addition, it attempts to understand the influence wielded by the foreign investment variables of foreign multinationals on FDI in Korea, by setting to analyze & verify Environmental Factors and the overall model based on FDI in Korea. Through an emprical analysis of USA, Japan, EU, China, as our hypothesis, we could verify that the positive effects(+) among the decisive factors of FDI in Korea include the market size, the mean earning rate of domestic manufacturing industries, and the marketing capacities of foreign corporations, while the negative effects(-) include the ratio of taxation on domestic manufacturing industries. Other FDI factors have various effects on each, so some factors show the same effects as the hypothesis while others show separate effects. In addition, the only nation for which the effects of FDI factors in Korea coincide with the hypothesis completely is the USA, while other nations (such as Japan, EU, China) have some effects that conform to the hypothesis, but other effects do not accord with it.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.245-267
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current situation of foreign direct investment of Korea based on GVC (Global Value Chain) perspective and to presentthe policy direction. From GVC perspective which comprehensively describes the world's increasing FDI and imports/exports phenomenon since the 2000s, the level of internationalization of Korea is excessively concentrated in trade. Therefore, the expansion of foreign investment (OFDI, IFDI) is urgently needed. The results of regression analysis using data from 50 countries and the international comparison of major countries including Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, etc, showed that the level of foreign direct investment of Korea is 20 to 30 years behind compared to those major countries. Therefore, exploiting the benefits of trade and foreign direct investment at the same time is needed to increase the level of GDP per capita.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.417-444
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• 2013

This paper aims to empirically identify the effects of FTAs on outward and inward FDIs in Korea. Considering the income differences between Korea and its FTA partners, we hypothesize that FTAs have a positive effect on outward FDI to developing countries and inward FDI from developed countries. An underlying source of the hypothesis is the Knowledge-Capital model, addressing the positive (negative) relationship between trade costs and horizontal (vertical) FDI. We test for the hypothesis using data on Korea's FTAs and FDI over the period 2000-2010. We find that our empirical results support the hypothesis, and additionally, FTAs in general encourage FDI by creating an FDI-friendly environment.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.209-228
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to analyze the changes in trade and industry of Korea and suggest implications from the perspective of global value chains following the spread of COVID-19. To this end, products for prevention of epidemics which is directly related to COVID-19 and IT industries with high GVC participation were analyzed. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the variation in import and export of products for prevention of epidemics was large. In the case of masks, import and export of final goods changed drastically, but the change in intermediate goods was not significant relatively. Korea's IT industry has been differentiated according to major trading partners amid overall changes in GVCs which is summarized as higher forward participation and lower backward participation. While no particular change resulted from COVID-19 has yet been made directly, the need for diversification strategies should be taken into account at a time when the production links with China and Vietnam are close and the dependence on trade with these countries is high. The COVID-19 is still in progress, requiring corporate strategies and policy efforts to respond to changes in GVCs in the post-COVID-19 era.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-34
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• 2013

Labor share of income in Korea has fallen from 90% in 1996 to 79% in 2010. This paper explores the factors driving the movements in the labor share of income based on a panel dataset containing 19 years of data on 18 Korean manufacturing industries. The effects of technical progress, globalization and the bargaining power of labor and capital on the labor share of income are tested for the period of 1991-2009. The main empirical results are as follows. (1) Capital-aug menting technical prog ress measured by capital-labor ratio and R&D intensity has a negative effect on the labor share. (2) Market openness measured by the value of export and import as a ratio to value-added production is found to have a positive impact. (3) Globalization of production measured by inward-FDI and outward-FDI as a ratio to total domestic fixed capital is found to have a negative impact on the labor share. (4) Union density is found to have had a statistically significant effect in 1991-1998. This finding is consistent with the efficient bargain model in which firms and workers bargain over both wages and employment. But union density is insignificant in 2000-2009. This implies that since the financial crisis in 1997, the bargaining institution in Korea has been approaching the right-to-manage model in which firms and unions bargain over wages and then firms set employment unilaterally. (5) Variables for domestic financialization measured by dividend-income ratio and financial-fixed assets ratio have an insignificant effect on labor share.