5. ODI from BRIC Countries: A Single-Country Empirical Analysis

In this chapter, we study Outward Direct Investment (ODI) from Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) through a single-country econometric analysis. To permit comparisons with our previous results, we study the ODI involvement and the ODI-performance nexus of Chinese and Indian firms using ORBIS firm-level data. The reason for focusing on China and India is twofold: On the one hand, these countries feature prominently in terms of ODI and their governments play an active role in promoting outward orientation of local companies. On the other hand, China and India account for the majority of our sample, permitting robust estimations. Econometric models and specifications are the same as in Chap. 4 and the results are consistent. First, Chinese and Indian firms engaged in ODI are in the minority. Second, within the group of investors, those firms having more than five foreign subsidiaries, investing in developing countries, or operating in joint ventures are in the minority. Third, the best performing firms engage in ODI. Fourth, within the group of investors, the best performing firms are more likely to rely on a large number of foreign subsidiaries, and less likely to invest in developing countries alone, or to operate exclusively in joint ventures.