A 'Flexibility for Development' Index: Can International Investment Agreements be Compared Quantitatively?

Paul Alexander Haslam

The European Journal of Development Research, 2007, vol. 19, issue 2, 251-273

Abstract: The complexity of the overlapping and intersecting web of international investment agreements makes it difficult to understand their effect on development. This conceptual paper argues that despite the intrinsically organic nature of international investment agreements, it is both possible and useful to compare their texts quantitatively. It advances the proposition by suggesting that IIAs may be scored according to the extent to which they fit the UNCTAD concept of 'flexibility for development'. The principal contribution of this paper is to develop a Flexibility for Development Index. The utility of the Index is demonstrated through a comparison of representative kinds of international investment instruments, including bilateral investment treaties, bilateral free trade agreements, and sub-regional trading agreements. Le maillage complexe des accords d'investissement internationaux (AII) qui se croisent et se recoupent complique sensiblement l'analyse des effets de ces accords sur le développement. Le présent travail de recherche conceptuelle part de l'hypothèse qu'il est à la fois possible et utile de comparer leurs teneurs d'un point de vue quantitatif, malgré le caractère foncièrement organique de ce type d'accord. Nous concrétisons notre hypothèse en proposant de classer les AII en fonction de leur conformité au concept de flexibilité pour le développement défini par la CNUCED. La contribution principale de ce travail réside dans la définition d'un Indice de Flexibilité pour le Développement. L'utilité de cet indice est démontrée à travers une comparaison entre plusieurs types courants d'outils d'investissement internationaux, notamment les traités d'investissement bilatéraux, les accords bilatéraux de libre échange et les accords de commerce sous-régionaux.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1080/09578810701289105

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