The paper discusses the concept that foreign direct investment (FDI) can both harm and facilitate economic growth in poorer regions of the world. It does so with particular attention to the current trend of global economic integration. The potential dual effects of foreign direct investment are discussed here in terms of both long-term and short-term effects, i.e. those arising from its routine operation, and those arising from particular events, such as the financial crash of 2008-2009. The document first defines the key terms under discussion, namely global economic integration (globalisation), foreign direct investment, the poorest regions of the world and contemporary economic integration. The variable effects of foreign direct investment on the world's least developed countries (LDCs) are then discussed. It does so by examining the ways in which foreign direct investment supposedly encourages development (for example, through technological spillover) and considering the problems that might arise. The paper concludes that producing a definitive explanation of the dual implications of foreign direct investment for less developed countries is made difficult – if not impossible – by the variables that emerge in the national economies in question. In positive terms, globalization can catalyze cross-border capital flows to poorer regions, alleviating poverty through increased government revenues (through taxation), the diffusion of knowledge, capital formation and employment (Aswathappa , 2010). Analysts like Borensztein et al. (1994) considered this phenomenon from a macroeconomic perspective, focusing on the diffusion of technology; assume that if minimum levels of human capital were present, foreign direct investment would have complementary effects on domestic firms. However, as Moran (2011, p.4) points out, determining whether or not foreign direct investment makes a positive contribution to the development of forces such as technological spillover. Achieving the critical mass of productive resources, entrepreneurial capabilities and productive linkages that can support technological spillover (e.g. from multinationals to local businesses) is something that national governments can encourage as a precondition for successful foreign direct investment. However, this in itself cannot be successful if the FDI in question only allocates capital to distinct enclaves of economic activity, as is typically the case in the energy sector. Catalyzing businesses remains a notoriously difficult challenge for governments (of developed, developing and less developed nations), and one in which capital misallocation is quite likely. Added to this is the problem of significant gaps in the type of data that both national governments and NGOs such as UNCTAD need to accurately analyze the situation..