An Economic Analysis of Bilateral Investment Treaties (Ökonomische Analyse des Rechts)

Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) are an important instrument for the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, compared to international trade law, international investment law has so far received only little research attention from an economic point of view. By applying a law and economics approach, Jan Peter Sasse provides a systematic analysis of the way BITs function. He explains why BITs are more than just a signal, how they relate to institutional competition as well as to institutional quality and why transparency in international investment arbitration is hard to achieve and may even be detrimental. Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) are an important instrument for the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, compared to international trade law, international investment law has so far received only little research attention from an economic point of view. By applying a law and economics approach, Jan Peter Sasse provides a systematic analysis of the way BITs function. He explains why BITs are more than just a signal, how they relate to institutional competition as well as to institutional quality and why transparency is international investment arbitration is hard to achieve and may even detrimental. Front Matter....Pages I-XXIII Introduction....Pages 1-5 Foreign Direct Investment....Pages 6-16 Economic and Legal Protection of FDI....Pages 17-66 The Economics of BITs....Pages 67-123 BITs and Institutional Competition....Pages 124-154 BITs and Institutional Quality....Pages 155-176 BITs and Transparency....Pages 177-198 Summary and Outlook....Pages 199-203 Back Matter....Pages 205-239