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Discussion Paper
Recent Developments in Foreign Direct Investment into the U.S.
In 2025, U.S. tariffs rose sharply, contributing to record-high trade and economic policy uncertainty. Part of the motivation for the tariffs announced in April 2025 reflects a desire to spur foreign direct investment (FDI) into the United States.
Discussion Paper
How is Geopolitical Fragmentation Reshaping U.S. Foreign Direct Investment?
With the rise of geopolitical tensions, public commentary and new research have raised concerns about the reallocation of economic activities along geopolitical lines. Early evidence suggests that trade patterns, supply chains, and investment are shifting away from China and toward alternative countries.
Working Paper
Breaking Up: Fragmentation in Foreign Direct Investment
Rising geopolitical tensions and supply chain vulnerabilities have driven recent fragmentation of foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper provides systematic evidence of FDI fragmentation along ideological and geographic lines across five dimensions: shifting away from ideologically distant countries (ideological sorting), prioritizing politically aligned countries (friendshoring), reducing exposure to specific high-risk countries (derisking), moving production closer to the home country (nearshoring), and returning investment to the home country (reshoring). Measures of FDI based on ...
Working Paper
Hidden Leverage in Nonfinancial Corporations
A substantial portion of corporate debt remains hidden from balance sheets. I document two forms of off-balance-sheet leverage in nonfinancial corporations: operating leases (pre-2019) and intraperiod borrowing—short-term debt issued and repaid within reporting periods, which I am the first to study in nonfinancial firms. Approximately 29 percent of publicly traded firms used substantial operating leases and 12 percent show evidence of substantial intra-period borrowing, with a disproportionate subset using both types of hidden debt. Firms using substantial hidden leverage are generally ...