Recent empirical studies concerning the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic development have all been taking into account FDI as a whole. However, the theoretical literature on the topic argues that more attention should be devoted to distinguishing FDI by type, and suggests that FDI with high technological content might play a peculiar role. This paper investigates the existence and the magnitude of this peculiar effect. With reference to developing countries, we find strong evidence that countries with a larger population and a larger stock of human capital, and countries that enjoy lesser uncertainty, are able to attract more FDI with a higher technological content. We also find evidence pointing towards a positive relationship between the share of technology embodied into FDI and the level of economic development in the host country
