Measuring and analyzing the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq during the period (2007-2021)

Abstract

Foreign direct investment has a major role in the economic and social aspects of developed and developing countries, especially in recent decades. Since it is considered a source of direct capital transfer, many countries seek to attract foreign direct investment to it as it is a primary engine for economic growth.

The Kurdistan Region has made many attempts by the Investment Commission to create the appropriate environment for such investments to benefit and achieve positive effects on the domestic product and thus economic growth, but the desired results were not achieved from these attempts. The study aims to measure the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in the Kurdistan Region, relying on the (measurable-analytical) method using annual data. The study concluded that despite the unstable political and economic conditions that the Kurdistan Region witnessed, the impact of foreign direct investment on the gross domestic product was positive in the short and long term. In order to increase the role of foreign direct investment in the gross domestic product, the study emphasizes the necessity of working to create a more suitable investment environment to attract this type of investment and provide security, political and economic stability.