Bilateral Investment Treaties, Credible Commitment, and the Rule of (International) Law
Do BITs Promote Foreign Direct Investment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4084228 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jason Webb Yackee (0000-0002-0398-2244, University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 805-832 |
| Publication date | 2008-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Society Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1540-5893.2008.00359.x |
| OpenAlex | W2030590713 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 32 |
| References cited | 40 |
A long line of research, beginning with Macaulay's (1963) well-known study of "Non-Contractual Relations in Business," suggests that the formal trappings of domestic law often have effects on private behavior that are, at best, "indirect, subtle, and ambiguous" (Macaulay 1984:155). Law and society scholars have spent somewhat less time exploring whether international law's effects on behavior are similarly attenuated. In this article I examine whether foreign investors take the presence of strong formal international legal protections into account when deciding where to invest. I focus on whether the presence of bilateral investment treaties, or BITs, meaningfully influences investment decisions. I present results from a statistical analysis that examines whether the formally strongest BITs-those that guarantee investors access to international arbitration to enforce investors' international legal rights-are associated with greater investment flows. I find no clear link between treaty protections and investment, a finding consistent with past law and society research but in tension with claims common in the BIT literature that the treaties should have dramatic effects on investor behavior
Arbitration · Bilateral investment treaty · Business · Conflict of laws · Economics · Foreign direct investment · International economics · International investment · International law · Investment (military · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Rule of law · Treaty · Corruption and Economic Development · International Arbitration and Investment Law · Law · State Capitalism and Financial Governance
The Role of Bilateral Investment Treaties in Promotion of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows
Non-state actors, extractive industries, and the investment regime
International investment agreements and foreign direct investment
Beyond the nation-state
The Shield of Nationality
Do international trade and investment agreements generate regulatory chill in public health policymaking? A case study of nutrition and alcohol policy in South Africa
All Things Work Together for Good
The Rise of Sustainability Provisions in International Investment Agreements
A BIT of help? The divergent effect of bilateral investment treaties on women’s rights
To sign or not to sign
Once BITten, twice shy
Argentina’s curious response to the global investment regime
Ratification counts
The political motivations of the United States’ bilateral investment treaty program
The non-ratification of bilateral investment treaties in Brazil
Signalling Demand for Foreign Investment
The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment in Authoritarian Regimes
Improving Reputation BIT by BIT
Learning and the Precision of International Investment Agreements
Variation in Bilateral Investment Treaty Provisions and Foreign Direct Investment Flows to China, 1997–2011
Contracting with Whom? The Differential Effects of Investment Treaties on FDI
Assessing the Expected Impact of Global Health Treaties
Locating the External Source of Enforceability
Structures of globalization
The Empirical Turn in International Legal Scholarship
Does India need a model BIT
Bilateral labor agreements and the migration of Filipinos
The Dejudicialization of International Politics
Design in Context
Delayed Ratification
Vote-seeking incentives and investment environments
What states want
Non-Contractual Relations in Business
When BITs have some bite
Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?
Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance
The New Law and Economic Development
Nuisance vs. Substance
Legal Rational Myths
The Phantom Menace
Capital Controls and Foreign Direct Investment
Host country reforms and FDI inflows
Do bilateral investment treaties increase foreign direct investment to developing countries
Dynamic Models for Dynamic Theories
Democracy, Autocracy, and Tax Incentives to Foreign Direct Investors
A Lot More to Do
Understanding Interaction Models
Reciprocity, Bilateralism, and Economic 'Hostages
Hypothesis Testing and Multiplicative Interaction Terms
The development of expropriation insurance
Democratic Governance and Multinational Corporations
Reversal of Fortunes
Competing for Capital
Law and the Behavioral Sciences
Non-Contractual Relations in Business
Elegant Models, Empirical Pictures, and the Complexities of Contract
What To Do (and Not to Do) with Time-Series Cross-Section Data
Paul Krugman's Geographical Economics and Its Implications for Regional Development Theory
International Law and State Behavior
| Unique citing works | 32 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2025 (16) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 32 |