Contrary to mainstream consensus on the dominance of English common law countries in investment prospects, this paper sets a new tone in the legal origins debate by providing empirical validity on the dominance of French civil-law countries in private investment. The assessment is based on 38...

Conventional wisdom -- but not empirical research -- maintains that strong intellectual property (“IP”) rights trigger not only foreign direct investment, but also local innovation. Thus investors seek, and developing countries compete to offer, the highest levels of IP protections. But...

All developing countries participate, to greater or lesser degrees, in the global competition for foreign investment. But attracting investment is not the only challenge. Harnessing foreign investment to achieve sustainable development is often even more difficult. What is needed to address...

The dynamism of investment law was channelled through international institutions to a greater extent in 2017 than ever before. For decades, investment law has been defined by its decentralization—by the absence of an institutional hub for multilateral deliberations—and by the difficulty of...

1. Introduction : foreign direct investment and human development / Olivier De Schutter, Johan Swinnen and Jan Wouters -- 2. International investment law : the perpetual search for consensus / Jan Wouters, Sanderijn Duquet and Nicolas Hachez -- 3. Foreign direct investment as an engine for...