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Journal article

Boilerplate in international trade agreements

Abstract:
New international agreements often recycle language from previous agreements, using boilerplate solutions alongside customized provisions. The presence of boilerplate in international agreements has important implications for understanding how international rules are made. The determinants behind boilerplate in international agreements have not previously been systematically evaluated. Using original data from a sample of 348 preferential trade agreements (PTAs) adopted between 1989 and 2009, we combine novel text analysis measures with Latent Order Logistic (LOLOG) graph network techniques to assess the determinants behind boilerplate in labor and environmental provisions commonly found in PTAs. Our results indicate that whereas boilerplate can be used for both efficiency and distributive purposes, international boilerplate is used primarily for efficiency gains and power-distribution considerations are not systematically important.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Files:
Publisher copy:
10.1093/isq/sqz069

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Department:
Politics & Int Relations
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
Politics & Int Relations
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-2098-7634


Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Journal:
International Studies Quarterly More from this journal
Volume:
63
Issue:
4
Pages:
923–937
Publication date:
2019-08-27
Acceptance date:
2019-05-21
DOI:
EISSN:
1468-2478
ISSN:
0020-8833


Language:
English
Pubs id:
pubs:1003043
UUID:
uuid:01df839c-b39a-4e13-8024-d7a15bd4b319
Local pid:
pubs:1003043
Source identifiers:
1003043
Deposit date:
2019-05-26

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