Who Said What?

Abstract

To-date few studies have examined the influence of the quantum of investment on the preferences MNCs harbor for specific elements of the Investment Attraction Package nor has quantum of investment frequently been included in studies of incentive effectiveness. Lim (1983)¹ has mentioned that large sized raw material investments may be an exception to his generally pessimistic view of the attraction effectiveness of incentives, and others have commented in passing that very large scale investment into developing countries may require special incentives. Recently, Rolfe et al. (1993)² included quantum — (small/large) — in their study of FDI incentive preferences. Although the majority of investments examined by Rolfe et al. were of the small quantum, expansion-investment type and the differentiation by investor strategic motivation was not provided, definition of “small” and “large” was similar, plus a Table segmenting the preferences of initial investors (26 respondees) and expansion/acquisition investors (70 respondees) was provided. Responses included five (5) from Jamaica, two (2) from Trinidad-Tobago and none from Barbados. As the findings were reported on the basis of their “small vs. large” proposition, they provide a useful point of departure for this study.

“All discussion, debate, all dissidence tends to question, and in consequence to upset existing convictions” Learned Hand 1872–1961