Author: Samantha Igo

Seminar Summary – The Inclusion Trap: Evidence from the Elite Civil Service

By Naomi Frim-Abrams On April 9th, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted Shaheen Naseer, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford, as a part of the Spring 2025 Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Seminar Series. She discussed her recent work on the unintended consequences of gender-sensitive reform and leadership pipelines in Pakistan’s civil […]

Capitalizing on Low-Carbon Technology Trade for Developing Countries

By Praveena Bandara Since the beginning of this year, the US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, cut back on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – which supported low-carbon technology (LCT) industries – and implemented staggering tariffs on its largest LCT trade partner, China. A new journal article published in Science finds that China is […]

Statement on the Passing of Pope Francis and His Legacy on Sovereign Debt

Three members of the Boston University Global Development Policy team were appointed to the Jubilee Commission of Experts to Address Debt and Development Crises hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS) and Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD). Convening in 2025, it is designed to address the growing sovereign debt and development […]

10 Charts to Illustrate a Structuralist Perspective of Developing Economies’ Debt

By Nathalie Marins Over the past few years, public debt has returned to the spotlight, especially in developing economies. Once seen as a tool for economic development and crisis response, debt has been increasingly perceived as a significant risk to economic stability and growth. With global shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, rising interest rates in […]

Balance of Payments and Economic Policy in Developing Economies

The concept of policy space, especially fiscal space, has become increasingly important as policymakers strive to balance the need for increased public investment with concerns about debt sustainability. However, there is still no consensus on the definitions of policy space and external sustainability. A new working paper by Nathalie Marins seeks to contribute to this discussion […]

GDP Center Round-up: 2025 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings

By Samantha Igo From April 21-26, 2025, all eyes in the global economic governance space will turn to Washington, DC as the 2025 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Spring Meetings kick-off amid a rapid-fire news cycle, tumultuous geopolitical environment and ongoing calls for structural reform to the international financial architecture. While expectations for meaningful progress […]

Back to the Future: How the Pre-OECD Global Tax Landscape Offers Lessons for Today

At a time when developing countries need to ramp up investment to achieve development and climate goals, tax revenue is particularly urgent. A global tax system weighted towards multinational companies makes collecting this revenue more challenging. International cooperation can help correct these imbalances, but a major question is how and where these negotiations should occur: […]

The IMF’s 17th General Review of Quotas Needs a New Formula to Deliver on Development

By Tim Hirschel-Burns and Marina Zucker-Marques Quotas are at the core of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s finances and governance, and they are overdue for reform. Quotas are the primary funding source to support the IMF’s lending and operations, and they determine the amount countries can borrow from the IMF, their share of Special Drawing […]