UNCTAD training manual on statistics for foreign direct investment and operations of transnational corporations

Many developing countries, including the least developed countries, have attracted only small amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI) despite their efforts at economic liberalisation in an increasingly globalising world. UNCTAD has prepared this three volume manual with the aim of helping developing countries to enhance the capacity of their government agencies to compile, analyse and disseminate data on FDI and the operations of transnational corporations (TNCs), based on internationally recommended standards. The volumes are: FDI Flow and Stock Data; Statistics on the Operations of Transnational Corporations; and Collecting and Reporting FDI/TNC Statistics: Institutional Issues. This Volume I stresses the importance of collecting data on FDI flows and stocks in line with international definitions and standards. It provides definitions and an overview of the existing standards set or used by international organisations and national compilers, and discusses and evaluates different approaches to compiling FDI flow and stock data, identifies data complexities and problems, and presents solutions to each of them.