WBS professor speaks at the House of Commons

My talk focused on the changing nature of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) into and out of the UK.

Professor Simon Collinson was one of just two speakers invited to address a Policy Breakfast today, organised by the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) on the The Future of Government Support for British Industry in the House of Commons. The IPT's function is to build bridges between legislators and the business community.

The first speaker was Adrian Bailey, MP, who is Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee.

Simon's talk focused on the changing nature of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) into and out of the UK. Inward FDI is of particular interest because it has helped boost employment and output in UK manufacturing in the past, but is less likely to fulfil this role in the future.

Multinational firms from China, India and other emerging economies are becoming increasingly important inward investors, but their strategic targets are assets, expertise and access to European markets. Given the labour cost advantages they benefit from in their home economies they are unlikely to be significant employers. This and other trends are changing the interdependencies between the UK and other economies.

Discussions around the appropriate Government response to these broad trends followed the two presentations.