Foreign Direct Investment and Human Development: The Law and Economics of International Investment Agreements

The relationship between FDI in developing countries and the progress of these countries towards human development has been a subject of controversy for decades in the development community. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective combining insights from international investment law, human rights law and economics, this book offers an original contribution to the debate. Through the use of original empirical data the book demonstrates the impact of bilateral and multilateral investment treaties on the flows of FDI, and the impacts of FDI on economic growth and on human development. It explores how improvements to the legal framework of FDI and to the way investment agreements are negotiated can maximize the contribution of FDI to human development.