空间费用、区位扩散与企业的对外直接投资

Space Cost, Location Diffusion, and Corporation’s FDI

当前FDI理论多从特定母国或产业角度解释企业对外投资现象,而且割裂了企业在国内和国外设立分支机构的行为。空间经济学有助于探讨企业区位决策及其转移和扩散的规律,并由此解释对外直接投资的一般动因。空间费用包括运输费用、时间耗费以及企业获取信息的额外费用。企业会选择空间费用最小点为初始区位,内外部环境的不断变化会不断增加企业在初始区位的空间费用,因而企业区位会发生转移或扩散。当其合适区位为国外某地时,企业就会对外直接投资。FDI的本质是企业为节约空间费用而发生的区位转移或扩散。联合国贸发会议跨国化指数和网络扩展指数等相关统计数据支持该分析框架所得到的结论。

The existing FDI theories explain the phenomena from specific home country and industry perspectives and separate the domestic and foreign spread of a corporation. Space economics helps to investigate the location of a corporation and its transfer and diffusion, and accordingly the general incentives of FDI. Space costs include transportation costs, time costs, and extra information costs. Corporations are located initially by the lowest space costs, and the continuous changes in internal and external environment tend to increase its space costs in the initial location. When the proper location is beyond the home country, FDI occurs. FDI is essentially the space transfer and diffusion for saving space costs. Statistics of the UNCTAD about Transnationality Index and Net Spread Index support the conclusions of the approach.