We examine the effects of government policy uncertainty on cross-border capital flows. FDI flows from US companies to foreign affiliates drop significantly during the period just before an election. The election effect for FDI is larger than election cycles in domestic investment. The electoral...

We examine the effects of political uncertainty on cross-border capital flows using election timing as a source of fluctuations in political uncertainty. FDI flows from US companies to foreign affiliates drop significantly during the period just before an election and increase after the...

We examine whether Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), an external governance mechanism, stimulate cross-border mergers by protecting the property rights of foreign acquirers. Exploiting the staggered adoption and bilateral nature of the treaties, we find that BITs have a large positive effect...