Bringing Trust Back to the International Investment Regime

Abstract

International investment is an important driver behind sustainable economic growth, contributing to higher employment, spillovers of technology and skills, and greater productivity. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has a rich tradition of facilitating international cooperation, policy analysis, and advice to governments on how best to enhance the positive contribution of investment in their economies.¹ Given the interlinked nature of the global economy—which brings both enormous benefits and potential drawbacks—a challenge for the OECD in the coming years will be to engage both members and nonmembers to continue promoting open, stable, transparent, and predictable investment regimes. Following a brief review of current OECD investment instruments and trends in the openness to international investment, this chapter argues that the OECD can contribute to maintaining and building trust in the international investment regime by adapting existing tools to nonmember states, expanding the number of countries that adhere to the investment instruments, and involving selected emerging markets and developing countries in the next revision of these instruments.