international trade
international investment
international development
environmental economics
6
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Aid for trade and decomposed productivity components in recipient countries Dung Ly-My, Sangho Kim Development Studies Research, 2026 This study examines the impact of aid-for-trade on decomposed total factor productivity, utilizing a panel of 54 aid recipient countries from 2003 to 2019. The study decomposes total factor productivity into technical progress and technical efficiency change by applying the stochastic frontier approach. Then, the study regresses decomposed productivity components on various measures of aid for trade. Empirical results indicate that aid-for-trade enhances productivity, although the total amount of aid itself does not have a significant impact on it. Regarding productivity components, cumulative aid-for-trade increases both technical progress and technical efficiency change, although yearly aid-for-trade increases only technical progress. Among aid-for-trade types, aid for supporting trade-related infrastructure and aid for building productive capacity boost technical progress. The results support the presumption that aid-for-trade promotes economic development by enhancing trade openness. The novelty of this study lies in revealing the link between aid-for-trade and the decomposed productivity components. In this regard, the study suggests that aid-for-trade enhances productivity growth through technical progress in the short run, which is transmitted to other countries through technical efficiency change in the long run.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) and environmental quality: Is greenfield FDI greener than mergers and acquisitions FDI? Dung Ly‐My, Thai‐Ha Le, Donghyun Park World Economy, 2024 Environmental sustainability is a key objective of sustainable development. In this connection, there are growing concerns about the environmental impact of foreign direct investment (FDI), even though it is a potentially powerful engine of growth and development in developing countries. In this study, we empirically examine and compare the environmental impact of two different types of FDI, namely greenfield FDI, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) FDI. Using data from 91 countries in 2005–2020, we find significant differences in the environmental effects of the two different types of FDI. In particular, our empirical results show that greenfield FDI is more harmful to the environment of host countries than M&A FDI. In addition, FDI from emerging markets and developing countries tends to be more harmful to the environment than FDI from developed countries.
Does Aid for Trade affect the quality of the environment? Evidence from Aid for Trade recipient countries Thi Phuong Thao Nguyen, Van Anh Nguyen, Dung Ly‐My Journal of International Development, 2023 Abstract The positive impacts of Aid for Trade (AfT) have been well examined on various aspects such as trade, trade liberty, inward foreign direct investment (FDI), infrastructure and so forth. However, the environmental effects of AfT have never been examined, while the environmental impact of foreign aid is already confirmed in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that investigated the connection between AfT and the quality of the environment in recipient countries. Using data from 100 countries from 2003 to 2019 with system generalised method of moment (GMM) estimator, our research results confirmed that AfT has a negative impact on the environmental quality of recipient countries, and we offer further explanations about this. However, the negative effect of AfT on environmental quality can be varied depending on the institutional quality and level of economic development of recipient countries.
Does aid for trade promote import diversification? Dung Ly‐My, Hyun‐Hoon Lee, Donghyun Park World Economy, 2021 Abstract Many studies have found that Aid for Trade (AfT) is effective in promoting the exports and imports of recipient countries. Recently, Gnangnon ( The World Economy , 42, 2019 and 396) and Kim ( The World Economy , 42, 2019 and 2684) found that AfT also contributes to the export diversification of recipient countries. We extend previous studies by assessing the effects of AfT on import diversification of recipient countries by estimating a two‐step System GMM on a data set of 104 countries in 2003–2016. Our empirical results reveal that AfT contributes to the diversification of both import commodities and import partners. This effect is particularly strong when partner countries are Non‐DAC countries. Our empirical evidence further strengthens the case for AfT because previous literature indicates that both export and import diversification are beneficial.
Effects of aid for trade on extensive and intensive margins of greenfield FDI Dung Ly‐My, Hyun‐Hoon Lee World Economy, 2019 Using a panel dataset of 105 developing countries for the period 2003–15, this paper assesses the effects of Aid for Trade (AfT) on greenfield FDI flows to the aid‐recipient countries. Particularly, this paper classifies the total dollar value of greenfield FDI flows to each recipient country in terms of four different layers: the extensive and intensive margins of projects as well as the extensive and intensive margins of source countries. Applying the system GMM estimator, this paper finds that AfT not only increases the dollar value of FDI flows to the recipient countries but also helps diversify the greenfield projects and source countries. In addition, this paper finds that AfT has a greater effect for greenfield FDI from donor (developed) countries than from non‐donor (developing) countries. Among the three components of AfT, aid for trade‐related infrastructure and aid for trade policy regulations are found to have positive links with greenfield FDI, irrespective of source‐country groups, yet their effects are larger for developed source countries. In contrast, aid for building productive capacity hinders greenfield FDI flows from non‐donor countries, while it promotes greenfield FDI from donor countries. We offer some explanations for this finding.
