If we focus on the last fifteen years, the construction and lending booms were clearly amplified by the pulling in of foreign funding, foreign inputs and foreign workers during the 2004-2007 period.
At the same time, the expansion in the export-orientated sector (including the industries dominated by foreign multinationals) was restricted by the adverse impact of a decline in competitiveness (Giavazzi and Spaventa 2011, Lane and Pels 2012, Benigno et al 2015).