On August 19, 2022, China announced it would waive 23 interest-free loans (IFLs) with maturity by the end of 2021 for 17 unspecified African countries worth an unspecified total amount. While it is challenging to determine the exact amount of the cancelations due to lack of information, a new policy brief by the Boston University […]
By Anisa Saleh The matter of project sustainability is often prevalent in the field of global health. There are numerous well-funded donor projects with eventual end dates. Project sustainability and transitions to local agencies are not always thoroughly considered in the initial project planning process, but mostly closer to the end of a funding cycle. […]
By Yuheng Zhao State capacity is the ability of state to collect taxes, enforce law and order and provide public goods. It is well acknowledged that rich countries are featured with capable states, while “failed” nations in general are characterized by incompetent states. Important as an effective state is, little is known about the building […]
By Min Ye In 2023, China will mark the tenth anniversary of its flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the billion-dollar push to fund roads, ports and other critical infrastructure around the world. Ahead of this anniversary, it is important to pause and reflect on the significance and trends of China’s international finance on the […]
The Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center is a university-wide research center in partnership with the Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies and the Office of Research at Boston University. In its fifth year of operation, the GDP Center is proud to present its 2022 Annual Report. The report provides an overview of the […]
By Samantha Igo On September 4-6, 2022, leading experts and policymakers will gather in Bali, Indonesia for the Think20 (T20) 2022 Summit to discuss the latest research-based policy recommendations and matters of global importance. More than 600 authors have worked on policy briefs to deliver policy options to Group of 20 (G20) leaders on three […]
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report underscored the need to reach net-zero emissions globally by mid-century to preserve a credible pathway to limit warming to 1.5C, with 135 countries have pledged carbon neutrality thus far. However, net-zero growth trajectories will entail a fundamental shift in the composition of the global economy, especially […]
The need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic has given developing countries the opportunity to embark on an energy transition that supports green growth while rebuilding and reenergizing their economies. However, the divergent paces of economic recovery between advanced economies and developing countries are creating a challenging macroeconomic situation. In particular, interest rate hikes may […]
By Steffen Murau and Jens van ‘t Klooster As financial markets are again putting Italy under pressure, the new political party, Italexit per l’ Italia, promises an easy answer: leave the European Union (EU) to regain sovereignty. Economists, lawyers and political scientists regularly assert that joining the euro means giving up all monetary sovereignty. However, […]
Even though monetary sovereignty remains an important reference point in both academic discourse and international politics, it has – throughout past decades – repeatedly been declared “over.” Creeping dollarization subjects states across the world to monetary and financial decisions made in the United States, while local financial systems depend increasingly on globally active mega-banks, asset […]