In a new journal article published in Science, research by Blake Alexander Simmons, Rebecca Ray, Hongbo Yang and Kevin P. Gallagher explores opportunities for China to alleviate debt burdens in exchange for debtor nation commitments to climate change mitigation and/or adaptation and environmental protection through “debt-for-climate” and “debt-for-nature” swaps. Many developing countries are experiencing mounting […]
By Blake Alexander Simmons and Rebecca Ray As developing countries emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, they will need to pivot rapidly to relaunch their economies. Given the severity of the current economic downturn, the world has an opportunity to pivot to greener and more inclusive forms of economic growth in the next business cycle. Standing […]
In a new working paper, Global Development Policy (GDP) Center Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Blake Alexander Simmons, along with Christoph Nolte, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University and Jennifer McGowan, Decision Scientist and Spatial Planner at The Nature Conservancy, discuss the ambitious conservation commitment outlined in President Joe Biden’s latest executive order […]
The role for the state versus the market has been a topic of great debate since the age of Louis XIV. While free enterprise and competition can foster great innovation, the unfettered state has also been host to many excesses. What is the right balance between free markets and state support? Join Boston University’s Global Development Policy […]
Can China implement debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps to protect the environment and reduce global debt? Join Boston University’s Global Development Policy (GDP) Center and special guests Carlos Larrea and Shuang Li for a webinar discussion and interactive launch on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. As the triple crises of climate change, debt and COVID-19 converge and […]
Sustainable, competitive and inclusive development trajectories for nations are crucial. However, there are uncertainties embedded in the emergence of green-related industries – in politics, technology, production and others. Amid this uncertainty, it is the mission of public institutions to foster and even shape markets. This is the case for development finance institutions (DFIs) supporting sustainable […]
By Xinyue Ma & Jake Werner The current debt sustainability framework and indicators employed by international financial institutions may be concealing as much as they reveal. The core of today’s World Bank–International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt sustainability framework is a set of debt ratio thresholds associated with the quality of a country’s policies and institutions, […]
In a recent study, Rebecca Ray examined multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the power distribution of the countries that borrow from them. Access the full Appendix below to review supplementary materials.
By Maureen Heydt In November 2020, the Global Development Policy Center, Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation published a report outlining an ambitious new proposal for comprehensive debt relief in order to jump start a green and inclusive recovery from COVID-19. The proposal includes mechanisms for involving […]
By Kevin P. Gallagher & Rebecca Ray With the release of the new interactive China’s Overseas Development Finance (CODF) Database this past week, a number of analyses and takes have been offered on the data. In this post, we make three clarifying points on the scope and findings of our data: 1. What does it […]