Foreign Direct Investment, Financial Development, Human Capital and Labor Productivity: A Global Perspective

doi: https://doi.org/10.35536/lje.2025.v30.i1.a5

Sundus Javed



07
Received
January
2025
27
Revised
July
2025
07
Accepted
August
2025
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Abstract

The study examines the impact of foreign direct investment, human capital, and financial development on labor productivity, utilizing data from 2000 to 2019 and panel data from 180 economies. The estimation technique used in the study is GMM, which helps to solve the problems of endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. The findings indicate that foreign direct investment, human capital, and financial development have a positive and significant relationship with labor productivity. The square term of human capital also shows a positive relationship with labor productivity, indicating increasing returns. This study contributes to the literature by examining the roles of structural and financial factors using robust techniques. Furthermore, the study’s results offer important policy recommendations, suggesting that the government should invest in projects to develop education and financial infrastructure to achieve high productivity gains.

Keywords

Foreign Direct Investment, Human Capital, Financial Development, Labor Productivity, Trade Openness, System GMM

Citation:

Javed, S. (2025). Foreign Direct Investment, Financial Development, Human Capital and Labor Productivity: A Global Perspective. The Lahore Journal of Economics, 30(1), 111–145.

https://doi.org/10.35536/lje.2025.v30.i1.a5