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Variation in Bilateral Investment Treaty Provisions and Foreign Direct Investment Flows to China, 1997–2011

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title Variation in Bilateral Investment Treaty Provisions and Foreign Direct Investment Flows to China, 1997–2011
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/BELVAD
 
Creator Zeng, Ka
Lu, Yue
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description This article examines the differentisal effects of specific provisions included in China’s bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in inducing foreign direct investment (FDI). Empirical analysis yields some evidence suggesting that while the signing of a BIT does not necessarily boost FDI, the entry into force of a BIT does exert a strong effect on investment flows. More importantly, we find substantial evidence that BITs with stronger investment protection provisions such as absolute and relative standards of treatment and dispute settlement procedures are more likely to induce greater FDI flows. These results suggest that the variation in the institutional design of bilateral investment treaties strongly influences FDI flows by shaping foreign investors’ expectations of their asset security and the overall stability of the host country investment environment.
 
Subject Social Sciences
 
Contributor Interactions, International