Assessing the Impacts of Investment Treaties: Overview of the evidence

This scoping study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) assesses the evidence regarding the costs and benefits of investment treaties, specifically from the perspective of developing countries.

• Academic literature suggests that investment treaties likely cause a modest increase in certain types of foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing countries, though methodological issues make it difficult to consistently identify this effect or the specific treaty elements responsible. Furthermore, these treaties may be most effective in increasing FDI in sectors that provide the least benefit to the host state.
• There is a lack of clear evidence to support other claimed benefits of investment treaties, including the promotion of the rule of law, the facilitation of domestic reforms, or the depoliticization of investment disputes.
• Investment treaties limit government policy space and have significant distributive impacts, such as requiring states to pay compensation to foreign investors that would not have been paid without the treaty. However, the scale of these impacts and their effect on investor-state bargaining in dispute settlements remain under-researched.
• Due to insufficient evidence, no overall conclusion can be reached regarding the net effect of investment treaties for developing countries, and it is probable that these effects vary from one country to another.

APA

Bonnitcha,, J. (2017). Assessing the Impacts of Investment Treaties: Overview of the evidence. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/assessing-impacts-investment-treaties-overview-evidence

Chicago

Bonnitcha,, Jonathan. Assessing the Impacts of Investment Treaties: Overview of the evidence. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/assessing-impacts-investment-treaties-overview-evidence.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bonnitcha, |first1=Jonathan |title=Assessing the Impacts of Investment Treaties: Overview of the evidence |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=27 September 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/assessing-impacts-investment-treaties-overview-evidence |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bonnitcha2017assessing, author = {Bonnitcha,, Jonathan}, title = {{Assessing the Impacts of Investment Treaties: Overview of the evidence}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/assessing-impacts-investment-treaties-overview-evidence}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }