The international trade effects of bilateral investment treaties

Benedikt Heid and Isaac Vozzo

Economics Letters, 2020, vol. 196, issue C

Abstract: We study the international trade effects of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and compare them to those of regional trade agreements (RTAs). We find that a BIT increases bilateral international trade flows by similar amounts as an RTA if the RTA contains an investment chapter. BITs have larger international trade effects than RTAs without an investment chapter. Results are robust to controlling for the effects of unilateral investment laws. They imply that evaluations of trade and investment agreements should also consider investment regulation.

Keywords: Bilateral investment treaties; Regional trade agreements; International trade; Structural gravity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F14 F15 F23 F53 K33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: The International Trade effects of Bilateral Investment Treaties (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:196:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520303451

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109569

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