Foreign direct investment and 'less favoured regions': Greek FDI in Bulgaria and Romania

During the process of industrialization and afterwards (1960-80), Greek outward investment to Western and developing countries had been marginal, and government policy had only emphasized inward investment. But since the beginning of the nineties the opportunities arising from new investment in Eastern European Countries (EECs) have completely changed the scene. The aim of this article is to shed some light on the foreign direcf investment (FD1) flows from a peripheral European Union (EU) economy such as Greece, to two Less Favoured Regions of Eastern Europe, namely Bulgaria and Romania. In particular, on the basis of the empirical results gathered from a survey carried out in 1995-96, the objective is to analyze key criteria underlying investment choices by Greek firms, in order to help identify their role in the restructuring process and the impact that outward flows might have on the Greek economy.