Absolute poverty is measured in terms of access to a range of freedoms - from hunger, homelessness, from education or healthcare as well as not being subject to oppression or unable to participate in democracy or suffer from corruption or limited opportunity based on gender, ethnicity, tribe, phsyical or mental health or characteristics like sexual preferences. The simplest measure of this is the Human Development Index (which covers longevity, education and real GDP per capita in ppp terms). A more sophisticated version can be found in the Oxford multi-dimensional poverty index. The number of people living in absolute poverty has declined across the world. Relative poverty is about how well off people are compared with others in their own country. One classic measure of this is someone earning less than 60% of the median income of a country is in relative poverty. As GDP rises and measures to allieviate poverty are taken including wider deeper education and healthcare provision or infrastructure development and land reform or development projects aimed at helping the poorest communities, more people are taken out of absolute poverty but as the economy grows, some people earn much more while others earn a little more and still others stand still. Those that are left behind fall in to the relative poverty category are not getting absolutely poorer, just relatively poorer.

Iulia Monica Oehler-Sincai Alina Ligia Dumitrescu

Strict control regime is imaginable in strategic sectors of an economy such as the military of certain high-tech industries especially if the country is already quite developed or strives for leadership in targeted areas. Still, as FDI is a vast subject and involves not only majority-stake or full-control investments, innovative FDI schemes can be developed for practically all sectors whereby an exchange of thoughts coupled with capital and technology inflow is promoted serving both the recipient and the provider. The examples of military, space and nuclear power cooperation between China and Russia and India and Russia are cases in point. Cross-country FDI which represents a win-win situation for all depends on the level of mutual trust. It is here that country governments must invest more time and effort to avoid damages to their own economies. For this, one needs many more far-sighted politicians who instead of being scared of foreign companies (see ex. of Huawei or TikTok in the US) encourage cooperative projects to the benefit of all. President Putin of Russia would be such a farsighted person. But heads of state and government who can match this level of competence and insight into world affairs are a rare species. Worldwide there is a lack of experts at high level of government who understand the implications of FDI and are capable of ensuring that FDI projects have a positive impact.

It is not so much a matter of defining what is good protectionism as compared to harmful protectionism. As a political leader in charge it is much more important to introduce smart across-the board policies in the interest of national economic and technological development without losing sight that other countries’ interests must also be taken into consideration in order to create a level playing field. The EU-China investment agreement which was recently put on hold by the EU Commission is a typical example of erratic behaviour and lack of FDI competence. Such an agreement should have been signed 20 years ago when Chinese companies started acquiring European counterparts without the Chinese government allowing EU players to do the same. This allowed China to acquire essential technologies and becoming an economic superpower. EU companies lost many opportunities because of lack of support by national political leaders who tend to delegate the power to EU institutions. For all countries of the world FDI remains a key instrument in enhancing growth and citizens welfare. It is the peaceful equivalent of efforts to achieve dominance through exaggerated military spending. Much more training of officials and politicians is required for much better results. Embassies should get more involved in reporting opportunities to their companies and strengthening mutual and multilateral ties. Good luck for your research.