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152. The case for a framework agreement on investment
- Author:
- Gary Hufbauer and Sherry Stephenson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In Columbia FDI Perspectives, No. 102, Axel Berger claimed that the debate over a multilateral framework for investment is futile. We disagree. Following its achievements at the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia, the World Trade Organization (WTO) should launch negotiations to draft a 21st century Investment Framework Agreement (IFA).
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Colombia
153. The "spaghetti bowl" of IIAs: The end of history?
- Author:
- Joachim Karl
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In his famous book, "The End of History and the Last Man", published in 1992, Francis Fukuyama argued that Western democracy represents the end point of the socio-cultural evolution of humanity and the final form of government.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- France
154. Recalibrating interpretive authority
- Author:
- Anthea Roberts
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- There have been many calls for a rebalancing of investor protection and state sovereignty in the investment treaty system. However, another equally important shift is underway: the recalibration of interpretive authority between treaty parties and arbitral tribunals. In newer-style investment treaties, states are increasingly protecting and enhancing their role in interpreting and applying their treaties.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
155. The China-United States BIT negotiations: A Chinese perspective
- Author:
- Sheng Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The China-US bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiations have attracted attention due to the relative size and weight of both economies. Despite broad consensus about the importance of such a treaty, there is considerable debate about its shape and content. The debate is reflected in two recent Columbia FDI Perspectives. Donnelly argued that a China-US BIT should be modeled on the US Model BIT without "splitting the difference between Chinese and US positions", and that the possibility of meaningful BIT negotiations are "really up to China at this point".
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Europe, and Colombia
156. Launching a New Chapter in U.S.-Africa Relations
- Author:
- Richard Downie and Jennifer G. Cooke
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Africa's changing economic landscape is prompting a shift in how U.S. policymakers view the continent. High growth rates, new technologies, and a rapidly expanding consumer class are driving greater global competition for investment and access to potential export markets, and the United States is recognizing that it will need to step up its game to remain relevant and influential in an increasingly crowded and competitive environment. This will mean placing a stronger emphasis on strengthening trade and investment ties and encouraging U.S. companies to take fuller advantage of expanding opportunities. Playing up these opportunities will not only serve long-term U.S. commercial interests in Africa but will serve U.S. development and diplomatic objectives as well. U.S. investments, done right, can have long-term development impacts in Africa, through technology and knowledge transfer, training, systems development, and partnerships. And a new, more optimistic engagement with Africa's citizens and entrepreneurs will have strong resonance with the continent's up-and-coming generation, creating links based on enduring mutual interest.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and United States
157. A New Development Agenda
- Author:
- Daniel F. Runde and Scott Miller
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The link between economic development and state security has been well established but is still too often overlooked. Former secretary of defense Robert Gates argued in support of development efforts as a form of “preventative diplomacy,” preventing the conditions where violent crises occur that may require more aggressive intervention. For example, rising food prices in Egypt have been cited as a major instigator for the protests that overthrew Hosni Mubarak. That does not mean that Mubarak could have stayed in power if only food were more affordable, but higher levels of economic development and the concurrent factors that encourage it could have made the transition more stable and less violent.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States
158. Which host country government actors are most involved in disputes with foreign investors?
- Author:
- Nathan M. Jensen and Jeremy Caddel
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Foreign direct investors increasingly use investment dispute-settlement mechanisms to resolve investment disputes and reduce political risk. Using data from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the major forum of international investment arbitration, we cataloged the government actors involved in disputes and the actions that led to arbitration. Existing case-based studies of investment arbitration have provided general inferences about the actors involved, but we contribute to the literature in political science and economics by systematically documenting these patterns of behavior.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance
159. China needs to complement its "going-out" policy with a "going-in" strategy
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant and Victor Z. Chen
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- China's rising outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) faces rising skepticism abroad. This is partly the result of the leading role of state-owned enterprises in her OFDI (and the fear that it serves non-commercial purposes), the speed with which this investment has grown, the negative image of the home country in some quarters, and the challenges it poses to established competitors. Moreover, Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) may not always keep in mind that host countries see FDI as a tool to advance their own development and hence seek maximum benefits from it.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
160. High Tech: The Next Wave of Chinese Investment in America
- Author:
- Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Asia Society
- Abstract:
- WHILE CHINA STARTED INVESTING AROUND THE WORLD in the early 2000s, the first waves of Chinese overseas investment targeted mostly extractive mining activities in developing countries and resource-rich advanced economies such as Australia and Canada. Over the past five years, however, Chinese capital has begun to flow into non-extractive sectors in advanced economies, increasingly targeting technology- and innovation-intensive industries. Initially, the surge of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in the United States largely responded to opportunities in energy and real estate, but access to technology and innovation is now becoming an important driver. In the first quarter of 2014 alone, Chinese investors announced high-tech deals worth more than $6 billion, including the takeovers of Motorola Mobility, IBM's x86 server unit, and electric carmaker Fisker.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, America, Canada, Asia, and Australia
161. Moral Hazard? 'Mega' public-private partnerships in African agriculture
- Author:
- Robin Willoughby
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- After decades of underinvestment in agriculture, African governments are rightly looking at how best to mobilize funding for the sector. Donors in turn are keen to reverse a trend of neglect and to support initiatives that are simultaneously likely to enhance productivity, improve livelihoods and increase private sector investment. Private investors, concurrently, are looking for new consumer markets and production opportunities in Africa.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Food, Famine, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa
162. Investing for the Few: The IFC's Health in Africa initiative
- Author:
- Anna Marriott and Jessica Hamer
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has publicly stated that achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and equity in health are central to reaching the two new overarching World Bank Group goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and boost shared prosperity. Jim Kim has also rightly emphasized the need to close the gap in access to quality health services for the poorest 40 percent of the population and to eliminate point-of-service payments that impoverish people in every country.
- Topic:
- Government, Health, Foreign Direct Investment, World Bank, and Health Care Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa
163. Sergio Cabral Filho, former Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Author:
- Sergio Cabral Filho
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program, titled "Rio de Janeiro: from Ostracism to Protagonism" features an address by Sergio Cabral Filho, former Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Introduction and Moderated by Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University in the City of New York.
- Topic:
- Development, Emerging Markets, Political Economy, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- New York, Brazil, and Latin America
164. The rise of FDI income, and what it means for the balance of payments of developing countries
- Author:
- Miguel Pérez Ludeña
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Multinational enterprises (MNEs) multiplied their profits made in developing countries by four between 2002 and 2011 (at current prices). In Latin America and the Caribbean, they rose from US$20 billion in 2002 to US$113 billion in 2011. The growth rate has been even higher in Africa and China, but much lower in developed countries. This rise is explained by an increase in FDI stock in developing economies and the higher average profitability of MNEs.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Latin America
165. Government-held equity in foreign investment projects: Good for host countries?
- Author:
- Louis T. Wells
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- A recent Perspective concluded that, in countries given to sudden shifts in policy, "a host country government equity stake in a project may decrease project risk by giving the state a reason not to demand a renegotiation." An investor may benefit, but does the host country? In my experience, rarely.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
166. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A critical perspective
- Author:
- Rainer Geiger
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Launched in July 2013 by the European Union and the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) represents an important effort to reach a comprehensive economic agreement between two major trading partners. As has been pointed out, the project offers great opportunities for liberalizing trade and investment and regulatory convergence. Its level of ambition implies high risks, but despite negotiators' initial optimism, its success is far from certain.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
167. Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues
- Author:
- John Gaffney and James Nicholson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In their contribution to the FDI Perspectives series, Baiju Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale drew attention to an emerging trend in favor of the so-called "costs follow the event" (CFtE) (or loser pays) approach, which is in contrast to the more "traditional" approach under which parties share the costs of arbitration equally, with each party covering its own legal fees.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
168. Withdrawing incentives to attract FDI: Can host countries put the genie back in the bottle?
- Author:
- Anna De Luca
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Many governments offer incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, the renewable energy sector has benefitted from large national incentive schemes in the past decade. However, the withdrawal of such incentives can lead to investors bringing investment treaty claims against host countries. This Perspective looks at some claims host countries face from investors in the renewable energy sector and their implications.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Italy
169. The Political Economy of Bad Data: Evidence from African Survey Administrative Statistics
- Author:
- Amanda Glassman and Justin Sandefur
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Across multiple African countries, discrepancies between administrative data and independent household surveys suggest official statistics systematically exaggerate development progress. We provide evidence for two distinct explanations of these discrepancies. First, governments misreport to foreign donors, as in the case of a results-based aid program rewarding reported vaccination rates. Second, national governments are themselves misled by frontline service providers, as in the case of primary education, where official enrollment numbers diverged from survey estimates after funding shifted from user fees to per pupil government grants. Both syndromes highlight the need for incentive compatibility between data systems and funding rules.
- Topic:
- Development, Foreign Aid, Foreign Direct Investment, Governance, and Developing World
- Political Geography:
- Africa
170. The Quality of Official Development Assistance 2014
- Author:
- Nancy Birdsall, Homi Kharas, and Nabil Hashmi
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) measures donors' performance on 31 indicators of aid quality to which donors have made commitments. The indicators are grouped into four dimensions associated with effective aid: maximizing efficiency, fostering institutions, reducing the burden on partner countries, and transparency and learning. The 2014 edition finds that donors are overall becoming more transparent and better at fostering partner country institutions but that there has been little progress at maximizing efficiency or reducing the burden on partner countries. The World Bank's concessional lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA), performs very well in QuODA, ranking in the top 10 of 31 donors on all four dimensions. The United States ranks in the bottom half of all donors on three of the four dimensions of aid quality and last on reducing the burden on partner countries. The United Kingdom ranks in the top third on three of four dimensions of aid quality and scores particularly well on transparency and learning. The Global Fund ranks in the bottom third on fostering institutions but ranks in the top third on the other three dimensions of aid quality, including the top spot in maximizing efficiency.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Kingdom
171. The China-EU BIT: The emerging "Global BIT 2.0"?
- Author:
- Wenhua Shan and Lu Wang
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Since China and the European Union (EU) announced their decision to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) at the 14th China-EU Summit in February 2012, the two sides have engaged in two rounds of negotiations. If successful, it will be the first standalone EU BIT, a BIT between the world's largest developed economy and the world's largest developing economy, and will occupy a unique place in the history of BIT negotiations.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Asia
172. Morocco's Emergence as a Gateway to Business in Africa
- Author:
- J. Peter Pham and Ricardo Rene Laremont
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Africa is home to seven of the world's ten fastest-growing economies. By 2050, the continent's population is expected to overtake India's and China's, doubling to two billion people. Moreover, those two billion Africans will be younger than their counterparts in every other region of the world and will account for one in four workers globally by mid-century. Africa's rich endowment of natural resources, including about 30 percent of the world's known reserves of minerals and 60 percent of the planet's uncultivated arable land, is already well-known to investors.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Morocco
173. Iran and Kazakhstan Relations: A Geopolitical Analysis
- Author:
- Elaleh Kooalee, Amir Ebrahimi, and Simin Shirazi Mougouee
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
- Abstract:
- Kazakhstan needs the short transit route leading to open waters to supply its demands and export oil and gas to international markets. Iran's territorial status in the heart of Eurasia, has offered new capabilities for commerce, industry, and development to this country. But some factors such as the geopolitics of the region, having the second largest resources of energy in the world, and willingness to allow the presence of trans-regional powers with the aim to reduce dependence on Russia and attract foreign investment, has resulted in the presence of these powers in this country and has created serious obstacles for Iran's more effective participation. The main question of this paper is how has Iran benefited from the opportunity to develop relations with Kazakhstan? The authors analyze the most important factors regarding Iran's geopolitical position and status with regards to the development of its relations with Kazakhstan.
- Topic:
- Development and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Iran, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Caspian Sea
174. Investment Treaties and Industrial Policy: Select Case Studies on State Liability for Efforts to Encourage, Shape and Regulate Economic Activities in Extractive Industries and Infrastructure
- Author:
- Lise Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- This paper, prepared in connection with a February 2014 conference organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, discusses some of the implications that investment treaties have for investments in infrastructure and the extractive industries. It focuses on liability for government conduct (1) in connection with tenders and negotiations; (2) when responding to questions regarding the legality of the investment; (3) in using performance requirements to leverage benefits and capture spillovers from the investment; (4) changing the legal framework governing an investment in response to evolving needs, circumstances, and interests; (5) administering the investment; and (6) requesting, and responding to requests for, renegotiation. After describing some investment treaty disputes, this paper concludes by outlining options for addressing and minimizing tensions between investment treaties and government policies and practices in these areas.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
175. Impact of China‐Africa Investment Relations: The Case of Ethiopia
- Author:
- Alemayehu Geda and Atenafu G. Meskel
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- This study investigated the growing relation between Ethiopia and China in the last decade. It is possible for Chinese-Africa relations to be either complementary or competitive (or indeed both) and it has multifaceted features. Notwithstanding this multifaceted linkage, the study focused on one of the channels – the investment (FDI) channel. Other channels are explored depending on the degree at which they shed light on understanding the Chinese-Ethiopian investment relations, which is the subject of this study.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Ethiopia
176. The Impact of China‐Africa Investment Relations: The Case of Madagascar
- Author:
- Jean Razafindravonona, Eric Rakotomanana, and Jimmy Rajaobelina
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- The rapid and spectacular expansion of the Chinese economy in the recent past is, for African countries, an opportunity to take advantage of not only in terms of strengthening the South-South cooperation, but also of developing African economies. It is thus important to define the channels through which African countries would do so. It is with this goal in mind that the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) initiated the research project on the impact of the economic relation between China and sub-Saharan African countries.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Global Political Economy, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Madagascar
177. The Impact of China‐Africa Trade Relations: The Case of the Republic of Congo
- Author:
- Jean‐Christophe Boungou Bazika
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- The relations between China and Congo are already old since they began in 1963. However since the beginning of the 2000s, the economic relations between the two countries are characterized by an unprecedented dynamism. Congo’s exports and imports with China recorded a leap of 179.38% and 309.21% respectively for the period 2001-2005. Such a trend pushed analysts to predict that the relations between Africa and China should have a significant impact and lead to upheavals in the structure of African economies. Two tendencies emerged in the literature: the first predicts that these relations would have a negative impact, in the sense that they would provoke a competition that African producers would not be able to bear. The second predicts that these relations would enable African countries to consolidate their growth, thanks to the diversification of trade and the installation of infrastructures which were lacking - such as roads, bridges, hydro-electric dams, drinking water purification plants, etc.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Global Political Economy, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, and Republic of Congo
178. Alternative Investment Regimes for Direct Foreign and Domestic Investments in Russian Subsoil
- Author:
- Andrei Konoplyanik
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Harriman Institute
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the evolution of the Russian investment regime in the subsoil in its both key – legal and tax - components starting from the very beginning of post-Soviet Russia in early 1990s up to the present day. We will discuss what are the prospects of its further development on a “slightly different” (or alternative) basis compared to the one that exists today.
- Topic:
- Foreign Direct Investment, Legal Theory, Tax Systems, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Eastern Europe
179. Toward a multilateral framework for investment
- Author:
- Nicolle Graugnard
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Business needs a stable and predictable investment environment, especially in times of economic uncertainty, to continue to generate employment and create wealth. Although foreign direct investment (FDI) flows rose for two years after plummeting in the wake of the global financial crisis, they fell again by 18% to US$ 1.4 trillion in 2012. According to UNCTAD, the major factors contributing to this sharp decline were economic fragility and policy uncertainty in several economies. Moreover, investment regulations classified as “restrictive” rose to 25% in 2012, compared to just 6% in 2000; “liberalizing” regulations were 75 % of the total in 2012, compared to 94% in 2000. The result of these regulations is, therefore, not surprising: businesses are holding back on new investments, with multinational enterprises reporting record cash-holdings of between US$ 4 to 5 trillion.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance
180. The futile debate over a multilateral framework for investment
- Author:
- Axel Berger
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- One of the recurrent debates on international investment rule-making relates to the question whether it is possible to establish a multilateral framework for investment (MFI). Proponents argue that growing foreign direct investment (FDI) from emerging countries, especially China, contributes to a new consensus on global investment rules.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China
181. The need for an international investment consensus-building process
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant and Federico Ortino.
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Discussions on a multilateral investment framework have recently seen a revival, as the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum and various authors have called for negotiations on this subject. A growing number of countries have been reviewing and adapting their international investment policies. This reflects dissatisfaction with the current international investment law regime, and a desire to improve it.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Law, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
182. Cost allocation in investment arbitration: Back toward diversification
- Author:
- Baiju S. Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In 2006, the Thunderbird tribunal, operating under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, called for the harmonization of cost-allocation approaches in commercial and investment arbitration. Subsequent tribunals appear to be heeding Thunderbird's call paving a trend in favor of the so-called “costs follow the event” (CFtE) approach and its variations. Generally, this approach prescribes the shifting of arbitral costs and reasonable legal fees to the unsuccessful party (or based on parties' relative success) and has historically been prevalent in commercial arbitration. By contrast, the more traditional approach in investment arbitration has been to share the costs of arbitration equally, save for special circumstances, with each party covering its own legal fees (traditional approach). In the wake of what appears to be an emerging trend in favor of a default CFtE custom, it is time to revisit the idea of whet her a single harmonized approach to cost allocation is really appropriate. We suggest that it most likely is not.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
183. Revisiting the Quality of Agricultural Official Development Assistance
- Author:
- Kimberly Ann Elliott and Edward Collins
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) measures how well donors score on the dimensions of aid quality that evidence and experience suggest lead to effective aid. Those dimensions are maximizing efficiency, fostering institutions (in recipient countries), reducing burden (for recipient governments), and transparency and learning (on the part of donors). The Quality of Agricultural Official Development Assistance (Ag QuODA), as much as possible, applies the original QuODA methodology to donors giving agricultural aid. In this update of Ag QuODA, we use new data from the Creditor Reporting System to extend our earlier analysis and update it to 2011. We also examine data on aid activities that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is now reporting. We find that the quality of official development assistance (ODA) varies widely, with multilateral donors generally doing better on average than bilateral donors. Improvements in the data quality and availability are making sector-specific assessments like Ag QuODA more feasible, but further improvements are needed to allow a deeper understanding of aid effectiveness.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
184. Changing Financial Flows During Afghanistan's Transition: The Political Economy Fallout
- Author:
- William A. Byrd
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Massive amounts of money flowing into Afghanistan since 2001 (foreign military spending, aid, domestic revenues, opium profits, land takeovers and development, informal mineral exploitation, theft of funds such as at Kabul Bank) have had profound political economy impacts, not least by further entrenching factionalized politics and fragmented patronage networks. The ongoing transition involving the drawdown of international troops and Afghan takeover of security responsibilities will be accompanied by drastic declines in international military expenditures and aid. Total resources for patronage will fall sharply; the Afghan government's share in remaining funds will increase; declines will be greatest at local levels, especially in insecure areas in the south/east which had heavy international military presence and high aid; and drug money will become increasingly important. At lower levels of patronage, competition over declining resources may intensify, so even in the absence of major armed conflict at the national level, localized conflicts may continue and even proliferate, aggravated by taking revenge and “settling accounts” by currently excluded and marginalized groups.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Development, Economics, Islam, Foreign Aid, Narcotics Trafficking, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Central Asia
185. Progress on Sovereign Wealth Fund Transparency and Accountability: An Updated SWF Scoreboard
- Author:
- Edwin M. Truman and Allie E. Bagnall
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- The term sovereign wealth fund (SWF) had not been coined a decade ago. By 2007, economists and the financial world were alternatively excited about or alarmed by the growing influence of these institutions, though in fact many of them had been around for decades. Politicians in countries in which the funds invested generally welcomed the additional financial resources from abroad while expressing concern about the motivations of investors and what they feared could be threats to political, economic, and financial security. The general public in the countries in which the funds were based realized at the same time that political leaders were investing large amounts of national wealth at home and abroad with limited disclosure, and they wanted to know more.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Sovereign Wealth Funds
186. Are trade-law inspired investment rules desirable?
- Author:
- Marino Baldi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Traditional bilateral investment treaties (BITs) focus on investment protection, i.e., regulate post-establishment aspects of foreign investment. In recent times, investment agreements have increasingly been supplemented with liberalization rules and also clauses on, e.g., key personnel, labor rights and sustainable development. Such integrated investment accords have notably become part of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). This trend started with NAFTA, continued with the negotiations on a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and has in the course of the past ten years increasingly characterized PTAs throughout the world. The rapid proliferation of PTAs has, in the investment field, unfortunately led to lower quality provisions. Many of these treaties contain such wide-ranging exceptions and vaguely formulated safeguard clauses that their regulatory value as regards the protection of foreign investments in their post-establishment phase is called into question.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
187. The Rebirth of Education: Why Schooling in Developing Countries Is Flailing; How the Developed World Is Complicit; and What to Do Next
- Author:
- Lant Pritchett
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- More than a billion children worldwide—95 percent—are in school. That's due in part to steady progress toward the second Millennium Development Goal that every child “be able to complete a full course of primary school” by 2015. To put that in perspective, the average adult in the developing world today receives more schooling than the average adult in advanced countries did in 1960. Schooling, however, is not the same as education. Few of these billion students will receive an education that adequately equips them for their future. The poor quality of education worldwide constitutes a learning crisis; donors and development agencies have been complicit in its creation, but they can and should be part of the solution, not by prescribing changes, but by fostering environments where change is possible.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Development, Economics, Education, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
188. Toward a New Paradigm of Sustainable Development: Lessons from the Partnership for Growth
- Author:
- Jeri Jensen
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Obama administration has the opportunity to achieve more sustainable development solutions with a new model of development relevant in a world where private investment is the primary driver of economic growth.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States
189. Growth and Opportunity: The Landscape of Organizations that Support Small and Growing Businesses in the Developing World
- Author:
- Monitor Deloitte
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- Over the next decade some 600 million new jobs will be needed to reverse the effects of the global financial crisis and avoid a further increase in unemployment. Small and growing businesses (SGBs) are a critical growth engine capable of creating many of these jobs Not only do SGBs create a large number of jobs—200 on average—but those jobs tend to be higher paying. One study showed that companies with 10–50 employees offer wage premiums of 10-30% over micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees, while the premium increases to 20-50% if the business has more than 50 employees. In short, creating new jobs is a critical component to improving livelihoods in the developing world, and SGBs are an important tool for driving this job creation, as well as producing other positive social and environmental returns for their communities by producing goods and services (health, education, sanitation, etc.) for the world's poorest.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Political Economy, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
190. Obama's Asia Pivot and the Koreas
- Author:
- Richard Weitz
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The end of President Barack Obama's first term provides an opportunity to assess what the administration's "strategic rebalancing" toward and within the Asia-Pacific region (sometimes called the "Asian Pivot" or "Back to Asia" policy) has accomplished as well as what challenges and unmet opportunities remain. The administration has launched several successful multinational diplomatic initiatives in the region to supplement U.S. bilateral ties with key Asian partners; relations with ASEAN have clearly improved. The economic dimension of the Pivot has made progress as seen by the growth of support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. U.S. efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Asia have proved far less successful, except perhaps for Myanmar, where the political transition remains a work in progress. The U.S. military has managed to establish a broader presence in the region, especially in Australia and Southeast Asia. U.S. officials have sought to impart new energy into the five existing formal U.S. bilateral defense alliances in Asia--with Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea. But the main problem with the pivot has been the inability to overcome Chinese anxiety about U.S. rebalancing, which has complicated their cooperation over North Korea and other issues. Fortunately, relations between the United States and South Korea are also strong. The ROK is becoming an important U.S. partner in several dimensions of the Pivot, though ROK-U.S. differences over North Korea might emerge with the advent of a new government in Seoul.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, Australia, and Thailand
191. His Excellency John Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana
- Author:
- John Mahama
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program features an address by His Excellency John Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, titled Reflections on the Challenges and Prospects of Democratic Consolidation in Africa, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ghana
192. Investment Facilitation in Transitional and Fragile States
- Author:
- Jake Cusack and Matt Tilleard
- Publication Date:
- 12-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper outlines a new tool for policymakers to deploy to encourage private-sector development in developing nations. Specifically it argues that in fragile states there are systemic failures that cause an intermediation gap between sources of capital and entrepreneurs seeking investment. This gap prevents investment by raising transaction costs and exacerbating information asymmetry. We present a case study of this gap as observed in our work in South Sudan. Then we propose a model of investment facilitation that bridges the intermediation gap. The model is based on donor funding of a neutral nongovernment facilitator to identify attractive investment opportunities, link them to capital, and facilitate transactions.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, Fragile/Failed State, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Sudan
193. Minority rules: State ownership and foreign direct investment risk mitigation strategy
- Author:
- Barclay E. James and Paul M. Vaaler.
- Publication Date:
- 12-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Business researchers, executives and regulators may assume that state ownership in firms raises risk for private co-investors. After all, private investors are seeking profits while states are seeking welfare. Giving them both equity only confuses the aims of an investment project, complicates the job of investment project managers and raises the overall risk of investment project failure. But these assumptions do not fit the evidence as demonstrated by a well-known risk indicator observable in hundreds of investment projects located in dozens o f countries: in countries where initial investment terms are more vulnerable to renegotiation by host country governments, we found that "minority rules" apply w hereby a non-controlling, but still substantial equity investment by a host country government can play a risk-mitigating role.
- Topic:
- Markets, Treaties and Agreements, Foreign Direct Investment, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Ethiopia
194. Beware the discretionary choices of arbitrators
- Author:
- Gus Van Harten
- Publication Date:
- 12-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Investment treaty arbitration has unfolded rapidly in recent years. Some observations arising from analyses of arbitrator awards are high lighted below. They support broad conclusions that: arbitrators reviewed a wide range of legislative, executive and judicial decisions but typically did not exercise judicial restraint in various ways associated with domestic and international courts; arbitrators typically adopted expansive approaches to their authority and to investor entitlements to compensation, especially where the claimant had the nationality of a major Western capital-exporting state; and decision-making power was highly concentrated amongarbitrators, suggesting a need for closer scrutiny of how the most active individual arbitrators have expanded the meaning of investment treaties and corresponding principles of state liability.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, Foreign Direct Investment, Law Enforcement, and Law
195. Go out and manufacture: Policy support for Chinese FDI in Africa
- Author:
- Nikia Clarke
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Energy investments and infrastructure contracts remain prominent in China's Africa engagement. However, investment in manufacturing makes up a significant proportion of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI). Its characteristics–large numbers of smaller transactions by privately owned small and medium-sized firms–make these flows difficult to assess or control. However, China and African governments have an interest in effectively channeling this type of FDI.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and China
196. Three challenges for China's outward FDI policy
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Since China adopted its "going out" policy in 2001, her outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) flows have grown rapidly, reaching US$84 billion in 2012 (although the stock remains small). That year, China was the world's third largest outward investor (after the US and Japan). This performance raises all sorts of issues, especially because state-owned enterprises (SOEs) control some three-quarters of the country's OFDI stock. Three challenges are addressed in this Perspective.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and China
197. Inward FDI in the United States and its policy context
- Author:
- Lucyna Kornecki
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) represents an integral part of the United States (U.S.) economy, with its stock growing from US$ 83 billion in 1980 to US$ 3.5 trillion in 2011. The United States, which had earlier been primarily a home for multinational enterprises (MNEs) rather than a host for affiliates of foreign MNEs, has become a preferred host country for FDI since the 1980s. Foreign MNEs have contributed robust flows of FDI into diverse industries of the U.S. economy, and total FDI inflows reached US$227 billion in 2011, equivalent to 15% of global inflows, the single largest share of any economy. Inflows of FDI, with a peak of US$ 314 billion in 2000 and another of US$ 306 billion in 2008, have been an important factor contributing to sustained economic growth in the United States. The recent financial and economic crises negatively impacted FDI flows to the United States and opened a period of major uncertainty. The effectiveness of government policy responses at both the national and international levels in addressing the financial crisis and its economic consequences will play a crucial role for creating favorable conditions for a rebound in FDI inflows.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States and North America
198. EU investment agreements and the search for a new balance: A paradigm shift from laissez-faireliberalism toward embedded liberalism?
- Author:
- Catharine Titi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In July 2012, in an internal document, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade suggested that future EU investment agreement s (EUIAs) should incorporate regulatory flexibility in the same way in which EU free trade agreements (FTAs) safeguard parties' policy space. Since it is expected that a number of treaties on the EU's negotiating agenda will be concluded in the near future, and given the policy shift that has already taken place in Canada and the US, it is time to start thinking about a new balance in a move away from investment treaties' traditional laissez-faire liberalism toward WTO law's embedded liberalism, a model whereby liberalization is embedded within a wider framework that enables public regulation in the interest of domestic stability.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, World Trade Organization, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Canada
199. The BRICS and international peacebuilding and statebuilding
- Author:
- Oliver Richmond and Ioannis Tellidis
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- The emergence of the BRICS has generated a renewed debate about peacebuilding and donor activity. This has slowly influenced the aims, norms and practices of international peacebuilding, statebuilding and development. There are subtle differences in BRICS members' interests, approaches and motives, power, influence, and adherence to or rejection of established standards (such as OECD-DAC principles). These states' activities have often attracted scepticism and criticism from traditional donors. An examination of their engagement with interventionary forms of development, peacebuilding, statebuilding, and their related institutions and practices shows that the BRICS can be both “status-quo” and “critical” actors. On the one hand, they all engage with the liberal peace paradigm and its often-neoliberal agenda that allows them to protect sovereignty and non-intervention, pursue trade interests, and advance their own interests (like a seat on the UN Security Council, regional stability or maintaining their often-ambiguous status of being both aid donors and recipients). On the other hand, their involvement has challenged peacebuilding's and development's Euro-Atlantic character through the unfolding of their own donor and peace agendas. This report highlights the instances in which traditional and emerging actors' agendas converge and diverge – and the motivations behind these agendas.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, United Nations, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
200. Inward FDI in Ireland and its policy context, 2012
- Author:
- Louis Brennan and Rakhi Verma
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Despite the global financial and economic crises and a sharp downturn in the domestic economy between 2008 and 2009, Ireland managed to attract large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2010. Inward FDI (IFDI) flows in 2010 were at a similar level to those in 2009, the second highest in Ireland's FDI history. However in 2011, there was a decline in such flows. While Ireland's economy has been greatly affected by the global crisis, Irish government initiatives have further fostered the country's attractiveness as an investment location for the world's firms. All indications are that Ireland's IFDI performance will continue to surpass that of most countries into the near future.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ireland