Unanticipated consequences -- Bounded rationality and the spread of investment treaties -- A difficult beginning -- Promoting investment treaties -- A less then rational competition -- Narcissistic learning -- Letting down the guard : a case study -- Expanding the bounds of rationality in the...

The paper analyzes systematic patterns of investment treaty rule-making using a large sample of bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Focusing on national treatment and transfer provisions, it finds that BITs signed between two developing countries are typically less wide-ranging than...