Reforming OPIC for the Twenty-First Century

What is the role of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in relation to private sector political risk insurers and financial institutions supporting the flow of foreign direct investment to emerging markets? This study provides an assessment of OPIC's various missions as a promoter of development, supporter of labor rights, protector of living standards in the United States, and advocate of environmental standards around the world. Drawing on the most recent evidence on the relationship between foreign direct investment and development and the impact of outward investment on the home economy, this study outlines a series of reforms that can make OPIC a more effective force in securing the benefits—and avoiding the hazards—of globalization in today's economy.