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by baq 36 days ago
foreign dollars and euros being spent in the country definitely counts as growth no matter how you slice it and regardless whether you like it or not.
4 comments

Foreign investment isn't fake growth and money being spent in the country is definitely a good thing. It's how Singapore managed to kickstart its economy in the 1960s. Lee Kuan Yew tried very hard, and succeeded, in getting foreign corporations to set up shop in Singapore. The key is to capture value and move up the chain over time rather than getting stuck as a "cheaper back office".
Yep, and today the situation is completely reversed. Through acquisition and business development Singapore is the country which owns the brands and invests in other countries. Poland just needs to stick to the formula. It's citizens are building global-class professional, managerial, and business development experience. Soon if not already those employees will start itching to build their own businesses. Poland just needs to maintain a competitive environment, and not let international companies suppress local startups by lobbying for anti-competitive laws and policies that favor the big guys, foreign or domestic. If it wants to give local companies a leg up, do it indirectly by investing in education and research.
Of course it counts, and should count. Foreign money enters an economy if that economy is producing something the foreigner wants.

A simple bank transfer into the country does not count as domestic Product.

It is local resources extracted, not foreign spent.
This is zero sum thinking. The foreign companies benefit and the local Polish people benefit. Wealth is created in the process and everyone benefits. What if those companies never came and never employed Polish people? Would Poland be any better off?
if spotify employs an american and they become more experienced over their tenure were american resources extracted? human capital tends to get better with experience, particularly when dealing with high quality foreign management.
Those foreign companies still have to pay Polish taxes,and Polish wages. All that money gets spent into the local economy.
spot on! its growth - economic capital seeking productive human capital