Domestic Political Institutions and Inward FDI in Developing Countries, 1980-2008

Princeton-Harvard China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow Boliang Zhu will be speaking at Harvard University.

Do governments in different developing countries prefer different types of inward foreign direct investment (FDI)? If yes, what drives such heterogeneity? FDI inflows like other cross-border factor movements can generate significant distributional consequences for domestic actors.  Domestic politics are thus likely to play a critical role in shaping a country’s FDI policy. In particular, distinct institutional constraints may drive political leaders in autocracies and democracies to prefer different types of FDI to benefit their core constituencies. Dr. Boliang Zhu will explore the politics of FDI in developing countries, particularly in China and East Asia.

Boliang Zhu is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at Harvard University. He specializes in international/comparative political economy. His research addresses the politics of globalization and economic development with a focus on China and East Asia. In particular, he works on three major topics: the political economy of foreign direct investment, globalization and domestic governance, and public opinion on economic integration. He holds a Ph.D. degree in political science from Columbia University, an M.A. degree in East Asian studies from Yale University, and B.A. degrees in international politics and economics from Peking University.