Research 

My works are published in Journal of Conflict Resolution, Review of International Organizations, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, and China: An International Journal. One of my dissertation chapters received the Bryan Jones Award for the best graduate student paper at the Department of Political Science, Texas A&M University. In 2019, my project was funded by the Japanese Studies Fellowship, Japan Foundation.

My dissertation addresses the puzzle of why some countries with corrupt and dependent courts can attract a substantial amount of FDI. To answer this question, the existing literature concentrates on studying how institutions---including domestic courts and bilateral investment treaties---resolve investor-state disputes. However, this vast body of scholarship underappreciates the importance of arbitral institutions that enforce private contracts and resolve disputes between foreign investors and domestic firms. These legal institutions provide arbitration services to both domestic and foreign parties and operate independently of governments even in countries with poor domestic governance. My dissertation provides the first systematic examination on the role of arbitral institutions in the political economy of FDI and has the potential to generate major theoretical innovations in the areas of comparative and international political economy.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Yin, Weiwen. “Climate Shocks, Political Institutions, and Nomadic Invasions in Early Modern East Asia.”  Journal of Conflict Resolution 64.6 (2020): 1043-1069. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcaa003.

Betz, Timm, Amy Pond, and Weiwen Yin. “Investment Agreement Portfolios and the Fragmentation of Firms across Countries.” Online in Review of International Organizations. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-020-09402-0.

Yin, Weiwen. “Domestic Arbitral Institutions and Foreign Direct Investment.” Online in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcaa003.

Yin, Weiwen and Youlang Zhang. “It’s the Economy: Explaining Hong Kong’s Identity Change after 1997.” China: An International Journal 17.3 (2019): 112-128. 




 

​