The paper, the editors' introduction to the volume, maps out the main challenges and opportunities resulting from the move, in the past decade, from free-standing investment protection treaties (BITs) towards more broadly-focused treaties addressing integration in trade and investment

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...