The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment on Selected Economies in Central Europe

Abstract

Nowadays, the decline in agricultural land is more evident than in the previous decades, and land is becoming a valuable natural resource. Agricultural land often gives way to construction activities, leading to the degradation of land resources almost all over the world. Foreign direct investment also affects the decline in agricultural land. The aim of this paper is to determine the influence of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the situation in individual economies in Central Europe (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary). In general, foreign direct investment reflects the intention of a resident of one economy (the direct investor) to acquire a permanent interest in an entity resident in an economy other than that of the investor. The paper focuses on FDI values and numbers on Greenfields in given economies and consequently how FDI significantly influence macroeconomic indicators such as GDP and unemployment in selected economies. The analyzed period is from 2003 to 2018. Data are obtained through the Eurostat, OECD, The World Bank and UNCTAD. In the period of recession (2009-2010), the FDI and GDP values in the economies are expected to be on a downward trend compared to unemployment, which will be higher than in previous years.