Abstract

This research paper examines the inflow of foreign direct investments in Slovakia and the impact of thereof on development of the country, with an effort to asses this impact beyond the pure economic development and growth of GDP. It attempts to identify main factors and key actors that enabled and facilitated the process of liberalization of Slovak economy in the decisive period of the economic transition in the end of 1990s and that further foster the increasing efforts of competition for FDI. With a special focus on automotive industry, this paper analyses strategies and economic policies of Slovak government adopted in order to attract foreign investors and win investments in the Central European region and the impact of the implementation of these strategies and policies on human development. The paper also attempts to understand, how the competition for foreign capital reshapes social, economic and political relations within the country, between the state, citizens and investing corporations and what effect this transformation of relations has on the living and working conditions in Slovakia. Foreign direct investments have been promoted as a grand tool for development and job creation. They have also been denoted as an instrument increasing dependency of the country and promoting race to the bottom in wages and working conditions. To assess clearly their impact on development becomes thorny due to the ongoing discussions on the notion of development: development in terms of economic growth and development where the choices and opportunities of people lay in the centre of concern. The competition for foreign direct investments in the region significantly reshapes values and norms determining life in Slovakia. It also redefines the dynamics of social relations, the bargaining power of the involved social groups in particular, with radical consequences for the essential preconditions for human development.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Foreign Direct Investments in Slovakia: The Impact on Development