This report was developed at the request of the European Commission. It aims to assess and raise awareness of the socio-economic impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, with a particular focus on investments by the European Union (EU) and in the context of the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA).
Covering the period 2003-2024, the report analyses the socio-economic effects of foreign investment in LAC, with emphasis on EU contributions. It combines various OECD methodologies and analytical tools adapted to the regional and national contexts. It draws on the OECD FDI Qualities Indicators, integrates multiple data sources, applying both macro-level and firm-level perspectives to examine foreign firms’ roles in productivity, R&D and innovation, employment creation, job quality and formality, education and skills development and gender equality.
The report informs and strengthens bi-regional policy dialogue, notably in the lead-up to the IV CELAC-EU Summit in 2025. By providing robust data and evidence, it seeks to support policy discussions between EU and LAC partners on how to enhance the development impact of investment.
As investment becomes increasingly strategic, both geopolitically and economically, and development co-operation and private investment agendas converge, advancing a stronger FDI impact agenda aligned with broader inclusive and sustainable development public policy goals is essential. The report serves as a foundation for future efforts to deepen the evidence base on FDI’s impact across countries and sectors in LAC and identify how development co-operation tools can amplify these effects. In this context, it can also contribute to inform the measurement, monitoring and communication of the sustainable development impact of investments under the EU-LAC GGIA.
The report was prepared by a cross-directorate team from the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF), the OECD Development Centre (DEV), and the Global Relations and Cooperation Directorate (GRC). It was led by Letizia Montinari (DAF) and Rita da Costa (DEV) and drafted by Nunzia Saporito (DAF), René Orozco, Mariana Navarro, Michał Oskroba, Martina Lejtreger, Evely Geroulakos, Adriana Caicedo (DEV); and Victoria Alvarez and Marta Encinas-Martín (GRC). Antonio Gomes, Deputy Director, along with Fares Al-Hussami, Head of the FDI Qualities and Impact Team; Andrea Marín Odio, Iris Mantovani and Fernando Mistura, Project Managers and Economists at DAF provided valuable comments and feedback. The document was prepared for publication by Lucinda Pearson and Maria Paz Salas (DAF), with editorial contributions from Henri-Bernard Solignac-Lecomte (DEV). Overall guidance was provided by Jose Antonio Ardavín, Head of Latin American and the Caribbean Division (GRC), Federico Bonaglia, Deputy Director (DEV), Ana Novik, Head of the Investment Division (DAF), Sebastián Nieto Parra, Head of the Regional Development Dynamics Division at DEV and Martin Wermelinger, Head of the Sustainable Investment Unit (DAF).
It benefited from comments and contributions from Emma Clua Vandellòs, Marc Vothknecht and Horst Pilger from the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission, in collaboration with Laurent Sillano, Ermina Sokou, Alexis Hoyaux, Karin Uuskam, Melvin Asin and Frederique Same Ekobo and under the guidance of Diana Montero Melis, Deputy Head of Unit, Felice Zaccheo, Head of Unit for Regional Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Felix Fernández-Shaw, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean and Relations with all Overseas Countries and Territories. Melissa Vega Monge from the Central Bank of Costa Rica, as well as Ledys C. Feliz and David Tejada from the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) of the Dominican Republic, provided valuable assistance with data processing and analysis in Chapter 4. Several others contributed important comments and information to this report: Kimberly Valverde Fallas and Mónica Umaña Delgado (Procomer, Costa Rica); Isabel Rata García-Junceda and Germán Bejarano García (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Spain); Sonia Fuentes (Foundation for the Internationalisation of Public Administration); Cristina Mora, Andrea Rojas Jiménez, Natalia Porraz Zamora and Tatiana Vargas (Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica); Ambassador David Puig and Cherybelle Gómez, Counsellor (Embassy of the Dominican Republic in France); Hamlet Gutierrez (Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic); Ambassador Luis Fernando Medina Sierra and Angie Contreras (Delegation of Colombia to the OECD).
The report also benefited from insights from EU private sector representatives Hispasat, EDF Renewables, G-RAU, MeKo MedTech, AKUO (Chapter 4) as well as Siemens, Volkswagen, Santander and Telefónica (Chapter 5).