Efforts to build specialized skills in government for negotiating international investment contracts often have little value for reasons discussed in this Perspective; even private firms hire advisors for skills needed infrequently. However, the Perspective proposes special circumstances and...

In the past decade, a number of Third World countries have emerged from their economic status as sources of raw materials or as sweatshops in which low-wage, low-skilled workers produced goods for the richer nations. Now they are themselves manufacturing and consuming high-quality,...

The 1980s and 1990s brought new protections to foreign investors in risky countries. Yet, the assurances failed to meet investors needs, imposed sometimes inordinate costs on poor countries, and widely rankled nationalistic sensibilities. The book's case histories suggest reforms for...