Recent years have also seen increased openness of EDEs to foreign direct investment (FDI) in search for faster growth and greater stability. However, FDI is one of the most ambiguous and least understood concepts in international economics. Common debate is confounded by several myths regarding its nature and impact. It is often portrayed as a stable, cross-border flow of capital that adds to productive capacity and meets foreign exchange shortfalls. However, the reality is far more complex. FDI does not always involve inflows of financial or real capital. Greenfield investment, unlike mergers and acquisitions, makes a direct contribution to productive capacity, but can crowd out domestic investors. FDI can induce significant instability in currency and financial markets. Its immediate contribution to balance-of-payments may be positive, but its longer-term impact is often negative because of high-profit remittances and import contents.
