Tarald’s PhD project investigates the causes and effects of the international regime for regulating foreign direct investment through the study of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases. The study is motivated by the observation that current empirics on causes and effects of the regime evaluate BITs and ISDS with little reference to the complexity of their negotiation, mandate and socio-economic footprint. To generate disaggregated data to assess the regime's functioning, he will participate in the development of two large databases. A detailed database that captures variations across BITs, and the PluriCourts Investment Treaty Arbitration Database. His project aims to investigate a series of issue-areas, thereunder:
- The state-level determinants of BIT provisions
- Under what circumstances, and how BITs affect domestic institutions
- Whether different types of BITs affect inward and outward FDI differently
- Links between respondent state regime type and outcomes of investment treaty arbitration