'Credit rating agencies (CRAs) play a key role in financial markets by helping to reduce the informative asymmetry between lenders and investors, on one side, and issuers on the other side, about the creditworthiness of companies or countries. CRAs' role has expanded with financial globalization and has received an additional boost from Basel II which incorporates the ratings of CRAs into the rules for setting weights for credit risk. Ratings tend to be sticky, lagging markets, and overreact whe more...

'This independent evaluation of the DB indica-
tors assesses the methods and processes
underlying the construction of the indicators;
the relevance of the indicators to desired
intermediate outcomes; and their use by World
Bank Group staff, policy makers, and other
stakeholders. It finds that the indicators have
been highly effective in drawing attention to the burdens of business regulation, but cannot by themselves capture other key dimensions of a country’s business climate, the bene more...

Corruption is the main barrier to trade and investment between the European Union and Latin America, a survey showed.

Seventy to eighty percent of EU companies developing partnerships in Latin America said they suffered from graft.
The survey by Eurochambres, the association of European chambers of commerce, found the cost of transport and logistics, tariff levels, the legal and security environment, and non-tariff and customs procedures as the next biggest factors preventing a higher leve more...

The CPI, produced by Transparency International, ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

Research note on determinants of FDI location by foreign affiliates - UNCTAD Investment Brief, No. 3, 2007 (PDF)

This system of international benchmarks developed jointly with the International Monetary Fund helps countries recognize vulnerabilities in their financial systems and determine appropriate reforms and benchmark their systems against international practices.

Transnational Corporations, Extractive Industries and Development is the focus of this year's report published by UNCTAD.

Abstract: "Weak institutions ought to deter foreign direction investment (FDI), and mass media stories highlight China's institutional deficiencies, yet China is now one of the world's largest FDI destinations. This incongruity characterizes China's paradoxical growth. Cross-country regressions show that China's FDI inflow is not exceptionally large, given the quality of its institutions and its economic track record. Institutions clearly determine a country's allure as an FDI destination, but s more...

Abstract: "We use a new firm level data set that establishes the location, ownership, and activity of 650,000 multinational subsidiaries -- close to a comprehensive picture of global multinational activity. A number of patterns emerge from the data. Most foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs between rich countries. The share of vertical FDI (subsidiaries which provide inputs to their parent firms) is larger than commonly thought, even within developed countries. More than half of all vertical s more...

IMF article on a widely shared view among academics and policymakers that foreign direct investment is a stabilizing factor during episodes of financial crisis in emerging market countries (January 2007).