Location factors in foreign direct investment at the local level: the case of Poland

Location factors of foreign direct investment (FDI) can be influenced by local authorities. This paper examines the hypothesis that local authorities’ actions have only a minor impact on location decisions made by foreign investors in Polish gminas (communes). Foreign investors are attracted to Poland, and to specific locations in gminas which offer investment plots, by a series of instruments designed as incentives and offered at selected levels of administration. The results of the regression analyses using panel data positively verify the hypothesis and draw attention to the commitment of Polish entrepreneurs and the development of labour markets as the main drivers determining the inflow of investment projects into gminas.