6th IIFT Conference on Empirical Issues in International Trade & Finance 2018 | Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | 12 December 2018 | IIFT Bhawan, B-21, NRPC Colony, Block B, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi, Delhi 110016, India

The year 2018 marks the sixth anniversary of IIFT’s biannual conference on Empirical Issues in International Trade and Finance (EIITF). The first conference was held in the year 2008 at Kolkata campus while the successive conferences were held in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 between Delhi and Kolkata alternatively. The EIITF conference has emerged as a platform for bringing together young minds and keen researchers to discuss, reflect and examine new ideas and understand different dimensions on current and emerging trends in the area of International Trade and Finance.

Policy Forum: Foreign Direct Investment and India's BITs
BITs come at significant costs to signatory countries. First, there are costs involved in negotiating and signing BITs. Second, BITs limit the signatory country’s freedom to regulate its economy. Finally, BITs open the doors for foreign investors to sue the host State directly in international arbitration. Indeed, developing countries have been the most targeted in investor-State arbitrations.

This session seeks to examine the role of BITs in attracting foreign investment based on past experience. In particular, the session examines the unique experiences of developing countries in investor-State dispute settlement. The session would also like to explore the flexibilities which developing countries may need in negotiating BITs

2018 Speakers

Alan L. Winters
Professor of Economics at University of Sussex, United Kingdom

Joshua Aizenman
Professor of International Relations and Economics at University, Southern California