Abstract
Discussion
Alice Amsden, René Belderbos, John Cantwell, Byungki Ha, Pierre
Jacquet, Randall Jones, Bruce Kogut and Lynn Mytelka
THE DETERMINANTS OF KOREAN INVESTMENT ABROAD
Trade Barriers
René Belderbos
A first key factor shaping Korean foreign investment are trade
barriers, notably antidumping measures, in the European Union
and North America targeting Korean firms. In the analysis of the
electronics and manufacturing industries, trade barriers appear to
have a significant and substantial effect on the likelihood that
Korean firms invest in manufacturing in the US or Europe
(chapters 3 and 5). Although the automobile industry would
appear as the odd one out because of the absence of trade
restrictions in Europe and the US for Korean cars, these countries
neither have received any major Korean automobile investment.1
Instead, Korean firms have entered highly protected and less
developed markets with positive growth prospects, by acquiring
local firms and manufacturing for local markets still shielded from
competition. All this confirms a strong positive correlation
between trade barriers and Korean investments.