Individual Case Analysis
Specifically, you are required to select a country of your choice (not your home country), review the country’s political economy (political, economic and legal systems) from a reputable data source such as the CIA Wold Factbook ) and critically discuss the country’s attractiveness or otherwise for foreign direct investment.
Learning Objectives – This assignment requires you to explore and evaluate the costs and benefits of FDI with respect to your selected country in particular and host economies in general. It therefore, fulfils broad learning objectives related to this course. However, the primary learning objective of this assessment task is to appreciate the macro-economic causes of growth in an economy and the subsequent and/or consequential influence on FDI. Through an analysis of the political economy in this context, this assessment is also designed to evaluate your ability to apply your understanding of the political economy and country attractiveness for investment.
Advice – Remember that the political economy stresses that the political, economic and legal systems of a country are interdependent; they interact and influence each other, and in doing so they affect the level of economic well-being. The study of the political economy stresses the combined effect of factors in assessing the economic well being of a country and subsequently that country’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment. In light of this, it is expected (and even encouraged) that you will overlap and integrate your discussion around the different components of political economy (e.g. the connection between political decisions and economic management being the most obvious overlap. You will find that the following reading (located in Short Loans Online) is an excellent initial source of information on the political economy: Hill, C. (2007) International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace 6/e. McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, Chapter 2 (National Differences in Political Economy).