The 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscored that climate impacts will be significant and differ widely across countries, with developing economies far more exposed to the negative impacts of chronic and acute physical risk. Beyond climate physical risks, countries can also be negatively affected by a disorderly introduction of […]
The level of debt distress among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) has been a concern even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is now a burgeoning consensus that a full-blown debt crisis may loom on the horizon. Even without a widespread crisis, the increasing number of countries who are losing their fiscal space jeopardizes […]
Although Africa has contributed only 3.8 percent of total global emissions, it has borne the brunt of climate change. With a substantial lack of energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa, the continent must balance the need to combat climate change with an urgency to develop the continent’s economies to alleviate hunger and poverty, which are exacerbated […]
In 2021, the Vulnerable Group of Twenty (V20) made a call for debt flexibility, invoking insufficient fiscal resources to finance responses to health and social crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as urgent investments in climate adaptation. The service of public debt crowds out crucial investments that countries require to climate-proof their economies and establish […]
World leaders are facing a shrinking window to enact ambitious climate policies, as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) alone will not be enough to remain below the 2C global warming threshold. With the goal of enhancing global climate action, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed an international carbon price floor (ICPF) arrangement, developed from the […]
By José Luis Reséndiz On Thursday, September 15, 2022, the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center hosted Dr. Stefan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford, to discuss his new book Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others […]
One of the most important concerns in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is increasing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure (OOPE) made by households. OOPE is the amount of money paid by households to purchase health services and medicines to address a healthcare need. Healthcare costs are among the largest barriers to accessing health services and achieving universal […]
By Rachel Thrasher From September 27-30, 2022, the World Trade Organization (WTO) will host its annual Public Forum, where WTO members, representatives from civil society, government, academia, business and media will gather to discuss the latest developments in world trade and to propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system. At the top of the […]
At the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022, trade ministers representing the 164 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met for the first time in four years amid an ongoing global pandemic and geopolitical forces that threaten to pull the global economy into separate blocs. A new policy brief by Sandra Polaski, […]
The Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers, a dedicated initiative of 55 climate vulnerable economies, is at the epicenter of looming debt and climate crises which are threatening their ability to build resilient and low-carbon economies. When scarce public finances are mostly spent on debt service rather than on investments to build a more resilient […]