FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN EGYPT: A STUDY OF THE IMPACT AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EGYPTIAN NATIONAL POLICY (1972-1979)

In 1973 the Egyptian government proclaimed its "open door economic policy" to encourage indigenous private and foreign direct investment in Egypt. Prior to the open door economic policy, foreign direct investment in Egypt was extremely limited due to the socialistic policies of the late President Nasser. The stock of foreign direct investment in Egypt was estimated at only ;The analysis presented in this study is based on data collected in a field research conducted in Egypt in 1979. These data relate to 669 foreign investment projects which were approved in the period 1972-1979. The foreign equity capital in these approved projects amounts to ;The more liberal economic policies pursued by the late President Sadat evidently improved the climate for foreign direct investment in Egypt. The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the impact of the open door economic policy on foreign direct investment in Egypt. The study also attempts to assess the impact of the actual inflows of foreign direct investment on employment and local production.