FDI Statistics and International Production: Towards (Re-) Conciliation?

In a highly complex global production landscape, the quest for sound statistics to measure the international activity of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has become ever more pressing, and challenging at the same time. Rationales for the use of FDI statistics from Balance of Payments, traditionally the main indicators of international production, seem to have weakened as boundaries between "real" and financial investment are becoming increasingly blurry. The purpose of this paper is to critically revisit the main objections to the use of FDI statistics to describe international production, and the possible counter-arguments and mitigating factors. Such balanced approach is aimed at providing concrete indications on the best analytical use of FDI statistics to measure international production.