arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

The Investment Facilitation Index (IFI): Quantifying Domestic Investment Facilitation Frameworks

Axel Berger et al.

World Trade Review2026https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745625101262article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Abstract Investment facilitation is an increasingly important policy tool to promote foreign investment. However, we know very little about its prevalence. This paper introduces a new dataset for measuring the adoption of investment facilitation measures at country level. The Investment Facilitation Index (IFI) covers 101 measures, grouped into six policy areas, and maps adoption across 142 economies. The paper outlines the conceptual and methodological framework of the IFI, analyses the current levels of adoption, and demonstrates the index’s robustness. The data show that economies with lower adoption rates typically belong to the low-income or lower-middle-income groups, often located in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This dataset serves as a benchmark for assessing the design and impact of international agreements, such as the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA). It can also support the IFDA implementation by guiding domestic assessments of technical assistance needs and capacity development.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745625101262

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{axel2026,
  title        = {{The Investment Facilitation Index (IFI): Quantifying Domestic Investment Facilitation Frameworks}},
  author       = {Axel Berger et al.},
  journal      = {World Trade Review},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474745625101262},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

The Investment Facilitation Index (IFI): Quantifying Domestic Investment Facilitation Frameworks

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.