An Analytical Study of Foreign Direct Investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The aim of this paper is to identify the key determinants in the Gulf Cooperation Council (which will be referred as GCC) for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows. Using the understandings of financial econometrics, the study discusses a significant positive association between FDI in Non-oil industries, while on the contrary, the negative association with the Oil industries. Natural resources are a path for some countries to attract FDI but it does not achieve the main benefits of FDI, which is introduction of new technology and offering job opportunities. Existing literature argues the suggestion that resource-rich countries attract less FDI because of resource (oil) price volatility. Statistical Models in Economic are used to analyze the data in achieving the conclusion. This study examines that natural resources discourage FDI in GCC countries, and helps identify policy reform priorities to support diversification and growth in the GCC through foreign investment.