Grantee Research Project Results

Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries' Energy Infrastructure: The Role for Domestic and International Environmental Policy

EPA Grant Number: U915843
Title: Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries' Energy Infrastructure: The Role for Domestic and International Environmental Policy
Investigators: Hayes, Mark H.
Institution: Stanford University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period:
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Economics , Academic Fellowships , Environmental Justice

Objective:

This research project will investigate the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the "greening" of these countries' energy production. The project will focus primarily on electricity and natural gas investments in China and/or India. The goal is to identify the economic and institutional factors influencing the type and volume of new FDI in these countries.

Approach:

One approach for this research is to attempt to isolate and identify the impact of specific policies on new investments in the Chinese energy market. After assembling a database of the relevant characteristics of recent FDI projects (including scale, technology, fuel choice etc.), the investments before and after any significant rule changes can be compared. To help identify the most important factors influencing FDI, a survey will be distributed to several companies active in the Chinese market. In the survey, data will be requested regarding project costs and risks associated with new project development, the choices of technology, fuel choice, and scale for new power generation projects.

Expected Results:

The results of the survey will provide better insight on how domestic policies and market conditions influence the types of new generation projects that are constructed.

Supplemental Keywords:

energy, climate change policy, developing countries, electric power, electricity, foreign direct investment, public policy, decision making, surveys, developing countries, China, India., RFA, Air, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, International, Economics, decision-making, Social Science, climate change, Ecology and Ecosystems, air quality, air pollution policy, deliberative policy, legal and policy choices, policy analysis, policy making, environmental monitoring, climate variability, energy generation, developing countries, foreign direct investment, public policy, China, energy consumption, environmental policy

Progress and Final Reports:

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.