A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows

Existing literature on China’s Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and their impacts on its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows has been understudied (Chen et al., 2017; Y. Li & Zhang, 2015; Tai & Liu, 2014; K. Zeng & Lu, 2016; L. Zhang & Feng, 2009). Empirical challenges in the...

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Main Author: Liow, Karyn Sze Min
Other Authors: Azusa Katagiri
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157165
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1571652023-03-05T15:47:28Z A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows Liow, Karyn Sze Min Azusa Katagiri Wang Jue School of Social Sciences azusak@ntu.edu.sg, WangJue@ntu.edu.sg Social sciences::Political science Existing literature on China’s Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and their impacts on its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows has been understudied (Chen et al., 2017; Y. Li & Zhang, 2015; Tai & Liu, 2014; K. Zeng & Lu, 2016; L. Zhang & Feng, 2009). Empirical challenges in the causal inference lie in China’s strategic selection and the existence of time-varying and country-specific confounders in its BIT conclusion. Employing Liu et al. (2021)’s counterfactual estimation framework to account for time-trends, staggered adoptions, and various confounding variables, this study identifies the overall positive effects of China’s BITs on its FDI inflows from 1978 to 2020. The positive effects are robust to various model specifications. However, a further analysis reveals that the average positive effect of China’s BITs on its FDI inflows are significantly influenced by BITs signed between China and its partner countries in the 1980s. Such heterogeneous treatment effects suggest that China’s BIT policy in the 1980s was a strategic one – it selectively concluded BITs with the most promising economic partners in the early period of its BIT regime. It then gradually broadened the BIT network to more partner countries as its diplomatic relations expanded over time. Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Policy and Global Affairs 2022-05-11T05:30:59Z 2022-05-11T05:30:59Z 2022 Final Year Project (FYP) Liow, K. S. M. (2022). A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows. Final Year Project (FYP), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157165 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157165 en HA21_08 application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Social sciences::Political science
spellingShingle Social sciences::Political science
Liow, Karyn Sze Min
A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows
description Existing literature on China’s Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and their impacts on its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows has been understudied (Chen et al., 2017; Y. Li & Zhang, 2015; Tai & Liu, 2014; K. Zeng & Lu, 2016; L. Zhang & Feng, 2009). Empirical challenges in the causal inference lie in China’s strategic selection and the existence of time-varying and country-specific confounders in its BIT conclusion. Employing Liu et al. (2021)’s counterfactual estimation framework to account for time-trends, staggered adoptions, and various confounding variables, this study identifies the overall positive effects of China’s BITs on its FDI inflows from 1978 to 2020. The positive effects are robust to various model specifications. However, a further analysis reveals that the average positive effect of China’s BITs on its FDI inflows are significantly influenced by BITs signed between China and its partner countries in the 1980s. Such heterogeneous treatment effects suggest that China’s BIT policy in the 1980s was a strategic one – it selectively concluded BITs with the most promising economic partners in the early period of its BIT regime. It then gradually broadened the BIT network to more partner countries as its diplomatic relations expanded over time.
author2 Azusa Katagiri
author_facet Azusa Katagiri
Liow, Karyn Sze Min
format Final Year Project
author Liow, Karyn Sze Min
author_sort Liow, Karyn Sze Min
title A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows
title_short A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows
title_full A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows
title_fullStr A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows
title_full_unstemmed A BIT does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on China's foreign direct investment inflows
title_sort bit does go a long way: the positive effect of bilateral investment treaties on china's foreign direct investment inflows
publisher Nanyang Technological University
publishDate 2022
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157165
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