The Andean Amazon is experiencing a surge of infrastructure investment financed by development banks often headquartered thousands of miles away. Regardless of the environmental and social risk management (ESRM) systems deployed by these projects, the surge has been associated with furthering environmental degradation and triggering social conflict in areas that can scarce afford it. The […]
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have a critical role to play in filling global infrastructure gaps as well as achieving the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. The MDB business model allows development banks to borrow funds from capital markets at relatively cheaper rates than what could be obtained by sovereign […]
In 2017, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continued to strengthen economic ties with China, especially with respect to trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in extraction, infrastructure and to a lesser extent, manufacturing activities. Conversely, Chinese policy banks gave fewer loans to Latin American governments, according to the China-Latin America Finance Database, jointly administered […]
Boston University President Robert A. Brown and Provost Jean Morrison are pleased to invite you to Brighter Prospects or Rose Colored Glasses? New Views on the Global Economy. Financial leaders from across the world are convening in Washington to cautiously celebrate what the International Monetary Fund sees as “brighter prospects.” Amidst the return of synchronized […]
The Belt and Road Initiative: Domestic Politics and Global Finance China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has faced considerable debate both at home and abroad since its announcement in late 2013. According to the Global Development Policy Center’s (GDP Center) database on China’s Global Energy Finance, Chinese policy banks have provided $225.8 billion in development […]
On March 7, 2018, BU’s new Global Development Policy Center hosted a “Research Meeting on the Empirical Microeconomics of HIV.” Organized by BU School of Public Health professor Jacob Bor and Harsha Thirumurthy of the University of Pennsylvania, the meeting brought together thirty experts in HIV economics from around the world. The meeting was timed […]
Over the last two decades, many governments have incorporated clauses in free trade agreements that commit treaty members to promoting good labor and environmental laws as well as outcomes. The logic is that countries should not gain competitive advantage in trade by undermining or failing to protect workers’ rights and the environment. The commitments typically […]
As members of the Western-led financial institutions, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, meet with finance ministries and central banks in Washington over the next few days, the center of gravity for leadership is shifting to other shores. Since the global financial crisis that occurred over a decade ago, there is now more […]
The GDP Center, in conjunction with The Latin American Studies Program, an affiliated regional center of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, is hosting a fall seminar series on the Political Economy of Latin America. The first installment of the series was held on September 29th. Assistant Director of the GDP Center, William Kring, presented […]
There is a sense of urgency in emerging market and developing countries, and Latin America in particular, for international development banks to generate a pipeline of infrastructure projects to reboot lagging economies and meet broader sustainable development goals. In meeting those goals, it is also important to ensure such efforts are socially inclusive and environmentally […]