Home Country Determinants of Outward Foreign Direct Investment : From which countries does the Republic of Ireland attract Foreign Direct Investment?

Abstract: The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into a country can benefit both the investing entity (the home country) and the host country. The determinants of FDI are a highly discussed topic, with various determinants being analysed and discussed over time.  Multiple research papers focus on the determinants of the host country, which try to identify the most important factors that make countries attractive to investment from abroad. This paper aims to shed light on the home country determinants and their relationship with investments into the Republic of Ireland. Using panel data analysis for 28 different countries around the world from the years 2012 to 2019, this paper aims to find relationships between different home country related variables and FDI flows into the Republic of Ireland. We find evidence that FDI is positively associated with the market size of the home country, the corporate tax rate difference between the home and the host country and sharing an official language. On the other hand, population and distance were found to be negatively associated with FDI. Based on the results of our analysis, a discussion of the home country determinants and their impact on FDI into Ireland is presented.