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The Impact of Bilateral Investment Treaties on FDI Inflows Into India: Some Empirical Results

Author

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  • Jaivir Singh
  • Vatsala Shreeti
  • Parnil Urdhwareshe

Abstract

After a run of adverse investor-state dispute settlements, India has recently denounced all its erstwhile investment treaties. New investment treaties need to be negotiated on the basis of a new Model Treaty that privilege state rights over investor rights. We study the impact of bilateral investment treaties on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India before the denunciation with the intent of inferring the consequences of changing the system. Our work captures the effects of international investment agreements on FDI inflows specifically into India. We construct an empirical model drawing on the Gravity Model, and estimate parameters using generalised method of moments. The results show that while the individual signing of bilateral investment treaties does not influence the inflow of FDI, the effect of the cumulative bilateral investment treaties signed is statistically very significant—suggesting that the spill over effect of signing a series of bilateral investment treaties are important, signalling a regime of overall protection to investors. The importance of institutional variables in influencing FDI tells us that overall participation in a system governed by international investor agreements influenced the inflow of FDI positively and therefore recent policy changes should be viewed with caution. JEL Codes: F21, F23, F550, F63, K33, O19, C22, C29

Suggested Citation

  • Jaivir Singh & Vatsala Shreeti & Parnil Urdhwareshe, 2022. "The Impact of Bilateral Investment Treaties on FDI Inflows Into India: Some Empirical Results," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 57(3), pages 310-323, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:fortra:v:57:y:2022:i:3:p:310-323
    DOI: 10.1177/00157325211027374
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    Cited by:

    1. Nadia Doytch, 2022. "Special Issue on ‘Global Trade and FDI: The Road Ahead’," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 57(3), pages 231-233, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    BITs; international investment agreements; FDI inflows into India; gravity model; generalised method of moments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development
    • K33 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - International Law
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • C29 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Other

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