Chinese Outward Investment and Host Country Corruption

The effect of Chinese outward investment (COI) on host country corruption levels, government accountability, and transparency has been a topic of considerable interest among activists and scholars as well as businesspeople and policymakers who fret Chinese malfeasance is putting their firms at a competitive disadvantage. For various reasons, concern is well warranted. On top of this, there are a number of conceptual reasons to be concerned about the link between COI and corruption levels. There is not an open and shut case about the link between COI and corruption levels, however. The purpose of this piece is to argue that a more nuanced assessment is needed before observers assert facts and draw out causal relationships. We also propose several policies to reduce any link between COI and host country corruption.

*This publication comes from Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and Juliette Devillard, "China Outward Investment and Host Country Corruption," The Diplomat, July 26, 2015, http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/chinese-outward-investment-and-host-count....