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We undertake a meta-analysis of the effects of international investment agreements for the protection of foreign investors on foreign direct investment using 2107 estimates drawn from 74 studies. Our meta-analysis finds robust evidence that effect of international investment agreements is so small as to be considered zero. However, our results do not rule out the possibility that the effect of these agreements is, in fact, positive and that current research methods are insufficiently powerful or precise to identify the underlying genuine effect. FDI from developed countries appears to be more responsive to the existence of investment protection, and there is evidence of publication-selection bias in favor of studies that find a positive effect for investor protection., Czech Science Foundation Grant Number 18-04630S, the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER), the Zengin Foundation for Studies on Economics and Finance

Online peer to peer lending (P2P) - allows people who want to borrow money to submit their applications on the platform and individual investors can make bids on the loan listings. The quality of information in credit appraisal becomes paramount in this market. The existing research to assess the role of what is known as soft information in P2P markets has so far been very limited and, inconclusive due to differences in approaches and methodological limitations. The aim of the paper is to discuss the role of soft information channels in predicting defaults in the P2P lending market and to assess the importance of soft information in the Fintech companies' credit analysis. Using a unique data of the Chinese P2P lending platform RRDai.com and new approach based on sets of hard and soft information, we compare the predicting performance of soft information, hard information and the combined role of both hard and soft information. We show that soft information can provide a valuable input in credit appraisal. The predicting power of soft information in our test was high, and together with hard information it can even help improve the loan performance. In exceptional situations characterized by the absence of hard financial data, soft information could be used, with caution, as an alternative.

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the effects of WTO accession on policy-making and institutional reforms in transition countries. This is done by looking at the experience of those transition countries which are already Members of the WTO. We start by examining the effect of accession on trade policy and distinguish between the effects of accession negotiations and those of autonomous policy initiatives. Other areas of domestic policy-making considered in the analysis include market access, governance, government budget, structural reforms, trade and investment arrangements with regional partners and macroeconomic management. We find that no precise blueprint of accession conditions can be ascertained, that WTO played a role, albeit not an exclusive one in the process of liberalization, that the costs of WTO Membership are not negligible, that the benefits of WTO Membership are also significant in terms of a better market access, improved governance and a recourse to better economic policies.

This paper looks at the role of the key international agreements in the process of liberalization of the telecommunications industry. We analyse in particular the role of the WTO agreement in furthering liberalization around the world, and the extent to which it provides protection for foreign investors. The analysis includes assessments of not only market access but also the treatment of property rights, rights of way, financial conditions and regulations as well as issues related to market structure and competition. Outstanding issues representing impediments of these agreements are also identified. The approach is to a large extent based on a comparison with other relevant international agreements, especially with NAFTA. The WTO agreement comes out of the analysis quite well. It is an important instrument of protecting and safeguarding market access for foreign investors even though, undoubtedly, several areas of the agreement will be subject to pressures for further negotiations. Dieses Papier befasst sich mit der Rolle der bedeutendsten internationalen Abkommen im Liberalisierungsprozess der Telekommunikation. Speziell fragen wir nach dem Beitrag des WTO-Abkommens zur weltweiten Liberalisierung und nach dem Schutz, den es ausländischen Investoren gewährt. Die Analyse umfasst die Beurteilung der Regelungen über Marktzugang, Eigentumsrechte, Wegerechte, finanzielle Bedingungen und Regulierungen sowie Fragen der Marktstruktur und des Wettbewerbs. Ferner werden die noch offenen Probleme behandelt. Der Ansatz beruht in einem erheblichen Maße auf einem Vergleich mit anderen relevanten internationalen Abkommen, insbesondere NAFTA. Das WTO-Abkommen schneidet bei dieser Untersuchung recht gut ab. Es ist ein bedeutendes Instrument zur Sicherung des Marktzugangs für ausländische Anbieter, auch wenn zu erwarten ist, dass für Teile des Abkommens Druck zur Aufnahme weiterer Verhandlungen entstehen wird.

Non-transparency is a term given in this paper to a set of government policies that increase the risk and uncertainty faced by economic actors foreign investors. This increase in risk and uncertainty stems from the presence of bribery and corruption, unstable economic policies, weak and poorly enforced property rights, and inefficient government institutions. Our empirical analysis shows that the degree of non-transparency is an important factor in a country's attractiveness to foreign investors. High levels of non-transparency can greatly retard the amount of foreign investment that a country might otherwise expect. The simulation exercise presented in the statistical part of this paper reveals that on average a country could expect 40 percent increase in FDI from a one point increase in their transparency ranking. Pari passu, non-transparent policies translate into lower levels of FDI and hence lower levels of welfare and efficiency in the host country's economy. A nation that takes steps to increase the degree of transparency in its policies and institutions could expect significant increases in the level of foreign investment into their country. This increased investment translates into more resources, which in turn increases social welfare and economic efficiency.

This paper looks at the role of the key international agreements in the process of liberalization of the telecommunications industry. We analyse in particular the role of the WTO agreement in furthering liberalization around the world, and the extent to which it provides protection for foreign investors. The analysis includes assessments of not only market access but also the treatment of property rights, rights of way, financial conditions and regulations as well as issues related to market structure and competition. Outstanding issues representing impediments of these agreements are also identified. The approach is to a large extent based on a comparison with other relevant international agreements, especially with NAFTA. The WTO agreement comes out of the analysis quite well. It is an important instrument of protecting and safeguarding market access for foreign investors even though, undoubtedly, several areas of the agreement will be subject to pressures for further negotiations. Dieses Papier befasst sich mit der Rolle der bedeutendsten internationalen Abkommen im Liberalisierungsprozess der Telekommunikation. Speziell fragen wir nach dem Beitrag des WTO-Abkommens zur weltweiten Liberalisierung und nach dem Schutz, den es ausländischen Investoren gewährt. Die Analyse umfasst die Beurteilung der Regelungen über Marktzugang, Eigentumsrechte, Wegerechte, finanzielle Bedingungen und Regulierungen sowie Fragen der Marktstruktur und des Wettbewerbs. Ferner werden die noch offenen Probleme behandelt. Der Ansatz beruht in einem erheblichen Maße auf einem Vergleich mit anderen relevanten internationalen Abkommen, insbesondere NAFTA. Das WTO-Abkommen schneidet bei dieser Untersuchung recht gut ab. Es ist ein bedeutendes Instrument zur Sicherung des Marktzugangs für ausländische Anbieter, auch wenn zu erwarten ist, dass für Teile des Abkommens Druck zur Aufnahme weiterer Verhandlungen entstehen wird.