Author = Rezaee, Mehdi

The Effect of Factors Beyond the Liberalization Policy on Foreign Investment Inflow on the Attraction of Foreign Direct Investment in Iran’s Free Trade-Industrial Zones

Volume 10, Issue 36, Spring 2010, Pages 15-40

Mehdi Taghavi, Mehdi Rezaee

Abstract In this paper, the model of foreign direct investment attraction into Iran’s Free Trade- Industrial Zones has been estimated on the basis of related theories and studies. The results of this study illustrate that inflation rate and domestic investment respectively have negative and positive effects on the attraction of foreign direct investment into those zones. For the success in absorbing foreign investment, the results of this paper also show that some policies other than mere liberalization policy of foreign capital inflow are necessary. If Iran successfully create a suitable economic atmosphere in order to motivate free domestic investors, both in the national economy and in the zones then Iran may manage to attract  foreign investors. This study indicates that high inflation rate and low attraction of domestic investments are implications of country risk, which lead to less attraction of foreign investments to the zones on the other hand, small amount of domestic capital in free zones in turn decreases the attraction of foreign direct investment into zones, as a consequent effect on foreign investment.