Trends In Private Investment In Developing Countries 1995

IFC Discussion Paper No. 25. Presents tables and graphs of updated statistics on private investment in developing countries between 1980 and 1993. Text focuses on capital flows that contribute to the financing of private investment. This six

This fifth edition of Trends in Private Investment in Developing Countries provides private and public investment data from 1970 through 1992. The Discussion Paper also includes aggregate data on net foreign direct investment and a brief discussion of the effects of recent privatization activities on private investment flows.

This short paper, in its eighth edition, provides private and public investment data through 1995. Although the growing empirical literature on privatization has almost invariably found that the transfer of assets from public to private hands yields both efficiency and welfare gains, there has been a surprising lack of research on the macroeconomic consequences of privatization. This report addresses that issue briefly, exploring the impact of privatization on private fixed investment. As a starting point, the dimensions of the privatization revolution are summarized with special emphasis on the contribution made by foreign investors. Data on investment commitments stemming from privatization are also presented. The final section offers some econometric insights into the importance of privatization as a determinant of private investment in developing countries. The report concludes that privatization of state-owned enterprises is likely to have a multiplier effect on private investment and is, therefore, an important ingredient of governments' efforts to improve the business climate and to step up the pace of economic development. Appendix 1 discusses the methods and sources used; Appendix 2 presents tables with investment figures in terms of five ratios; Appendix 3 graphs the data by region; and Appendix 4 discusses the econometric results.

Private investment in developing countries continued its upward trend in 1996, the most recent year for which data exist, on an unweighted average basis. Public investment rates continued a decline that began in the early 1980s. The largest increases in private investment between 1995 and 1996 occurred in Malawi, Mauritania, Benin, Papua New Guinea, and Bolivia, suggesting that the private firms in some of the world's poorest countries are showing a strong supply response. This year's edition includes statistics for four major Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries for comparison with developing country trends. It also includes a discussion of domestic capital markets in financing private investment; even though stock and bond markets have grown at a rapid rate, they play only a minor role in financing investment in the developing countries where banks are a more important source of financing.

Private investment in developing countries continued its upward trend in 1996, the most recent year for which data exist, on an unweighted average basis. Public investment rates continued a decline that began in the early 1980s. The largest increases in private investment between 1995 and 1996 occurred in Malawi, Mauritania, Benin, Papua New Guinea, and Bolivia, suggesting that the private firms in some of the world's poorest countries are showing a strong supply response. This year's edition includes statistics for four major Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries for comparison with developing country trends. It also includes a discussion of domestic capital markets in financing private investment; even though stock and bond markets have grown at a rapid rate, they play only a minor role in financing investment in the developing countries where banks are a more important source of financing.