Estimating two-step selection models, we find that more democratic governments are more likely to conclude preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and to agree to stricter investment provisions related to pre-establishment national treatment and investor-state dispute settlement in PTAs. This is...

We argue that the trend toward international investment agreements (IIAs) with stricter investment rules is driven by competitive diffusion, namely defensive moves of developing countries concerned about foreign direct investment (FDI) diversion in favor of competing host countries. Accounting...

The recent boom of investor-state disputes filed under international investment agreements has fueled a controversial academic and policy debate. Despite its importance, there has been very little work to date on the impacts of compensation claims by investors on FDI flows to the responding host...

The development of the modern investment treaty regime represents a remarkable extension of international law in the post-war period. However, the development of this regime has precipitated a backlash from some states, various civil society actors, and scholars over the past decade. For all...

The growth in the signing of international investment agreements (IIAs) in the period 1990 to 2009 can be characterised as an international public policy bubble. Like the rise of privatisation at the domestic level, the expansion of this international treaty regime was arguably premised on an...

The legitimacy debates surrounding investment treaty arbitration are intensifying. At the same time, the number of claims filed continues on a growth trajectory. Some commentators believe that the practice of investment treaty arbitration will evolve over time; and as the regime evolves, many -...