New Patterns in Foreign Direct Investment

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Much of the literature on foreign direct investment focuses on investment from advanced economies to developing economies, and how democratic institutions and international investment agreements can mitigate political risk in developing economies. This literature thus masks important developments in the global investment regime: many "democratic" countries have begun to backslide toward greater authoritarianism, there is substantial variation in the content of investment agreements, significant investment flows originate in developing countries like China, and investment is frequently made as part of a global value chain. This panel develops our understanding of foreign direct investment, by taking each of these considerations seriously. Gray, Kelemen, and Teo assess how democratic backsliding affects investment flows. Alschner and Arel-Bundock compare the development of the global investment and tax regimes, which are primarily composed of bilateral treaties. Sierra investigates the impact of Chinese investment inflows on market protection in developed democracies. Schoeneman, Zhu, and Desmarais use network models to more completely understand the form of FDI flows.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 16: International Political Economy

Chair

• Amy Pond Texas A&M University

Discussants

• Timm Betz Texas A&M University

• Sarah Bauerle Danzman Indiana University

Individual Presentations

• Pecunia Non Olet: Financial Flows into Illiberal European Countries - Julia Gray, London School of Economics; R. Daniel Kelemen, Rutgers University, New Brunswick; Terence K. Teo, Seton Hall University

• International Tax and Investment Law - Wolfgang Alschner, University of Ottawa; Vincent Arel-Bundock, Universite de Montreal

• Chinese Investments in Advanced Economies - Jazmin Sierra, University of Notre Dame

• Complex Dependence in FDI: Network Theory and Empirical Analysis - John Schoeneman, Pennsylvania State University; Boliang Zhu, Pennsylvania State University; Bruce Desmarais, Pennsylvania State University