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This research aims to study the spillovers of Foreign Direct Investment, technology catch-up, and industry growth in both Chinese and Central Eastern European automotive industries from a comparative perspective. Theoretically, there are four channels for FDI spillover through demonstration and imitation, industry linkage, labor mobility, and competition effect. But empirically, previous studies investigated FDI spillovers by detecting the presence of positive or negative spillover effects, but they did not try to explain the mechanism of spillovers. Based on agent-based modelling rather than the traditional equation-based modelling, my study may discover the black box inside FDI spillovers. My study also wants to assess the performance and prospects of domestic firms from emerging economies in acquiring indigenous innovative capabilities to overcome the middle-income trap and eventually accomplish technological catch-up or leapfrogging based on the neo-Schumpeterian framework. Moreover, by comparing automotive industries in both China (State permeated economic), and Central Eastern European countries (Dependent market economic), this study can make contribution on explaining the relationship between different modes of development and their effects on enhancing innovative and technological capability that are essential for technology upgrade and catch-up.

About the speaker:

Pengfei Chang is a first-year Ph.D. student at Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ SSEES. He earned his MA degree with distinction from Â鶹´«Ã½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ SSEES as well. Before his Ph.D. research, Mr. Chang was an instructor for the Applied Economics program at BNU-HKBU United International College. His research interests concern FDI spillover, technology and industry upgrades, innovation policy, and the automotive industry. He is currently being supervised by Prof. Slavo Radosevic and Dr. Randolph Bruno.

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