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Learning and the Precision of International Investment Agreements

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  • Mark S. Manger
  • Clint Peinhardt

Abstract

The international regime for the promotion and protection of foreign investment consists of a multitude of close to 3,000 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and related international investment agreements (IIAs). Yet, despite a growing body of research on IIAs, scholars in political economy have paid little attention to the legal language in the treaties themselves. In this research note, we draw on the conceptual apparatus of the legalization literature and focus on legal precision in BITs. We use a new data set created through quantitative text analysis to develop an index measuring legal precision. We then investigate the causes of the pronounced increase in precision in BITs and the considerable variation across treaties. We argue that capital-exporting countries are the primary drivers of change, and that they are motivated because they learn the implications of existing legal language from two sources: First, from the growing number of arbitration proceedings, and second, when they themselves are targeted by such claims. We provide statistical tests of our hypotheses and find ample support.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark S. Manger & Clint Peinhardt, 2017. "Learning and the Precision of International Investment Agreements," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(6), pages 920-940, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ginixx:v:43:y:2017:i:6:p:920-940
    DOI: 10.1080/03050629.2017.1311258
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dieter M. Urban, 2006. "Multilateral Investment Agreement in a Political Equilibrium," CESifo Working Paper Series 1830, CESifo.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tuuli-Anna Huikuri, 2023. "Constraints and incentives in the investment regime: How bargaining power shapes BIT reform," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 361-391, April.
    2. Axel Berger & Wan‐Hsin Liu, 2021. "Can the G20 serve as a launchpad for a multilateral investment agreement?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(8), pages 2284-2302, August.
    3. Christoph Mödlhamer, 2020. "Innovativeness and the design of intellectual property rights in preferential trade agreements: A refinement of the North–South explanation," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 329-348, December.
    4. Yoram Z. Haftel & Alexander Thompson, 2018. "When do states renegotiate investment agreements? The impact of arbitration," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 25-48, March.
    5. Markus Gastinger & Henning Schmidtke, 2023. "Measuring precision precisely: A dictionary-based measure of imprecision," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 553-571, July.
    6. Florencia Montal & Carly Potz-Nielsen & Jane Lawrence Sumner, 2020. "What states want: Estimating ideal points from international investment treaty content," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(6), pages 679-691, November.
    7. Seungjun Kim, 2023. "Protecting home: how firms’ investment plans affect the formation of bilateral investment treaties," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 667-692, October.
    8. Anne Marie Thow & Wolfgang Alschner & Faisal Aljunied, 2023. "Public health clauses in international investment agreements: Sword or shield?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(2), pages 260-269, May.

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