US outward foreign direct investment in the European Union and the implementation of the single market: empirical evidence from a cohesive framework

In this article we investigate the determinants of US outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the European Union for the period 1982–2002. The data set allowed us to discern differences in the pattern of US FDI between EU core and EU periphery countries, as well as over different time periods during the last two decades. The results indicate that the US FDI pattern varies among different groups of countries and that there was a restructuring in multinational firms' investment activity after the implementation of the single market plan. Agglomeration factors, market size, qualified and productive labour and cost efficiency of local production seem to dominate in the location choice of US investors.