Gallagher & Heine Discuss Development Finance in Ecuador
[UPDATED MARCH 23, 2021] Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy and Director of the Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, and Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at the Pardee School, co-authored an op-ed in The Hill on the United States’ economic policy in Ecuador.
In the article, titled “Biden needs to reverse Trump’s economic policy in Ecuador,” Gallagher and Heine argue that President Joe Biden should reverse the policy of former President Trump’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which would’ve forced Ecuador to ban Chinese technology and increase its reliance on oil.
The Trump deal was not solidified before his departure from office, and the two authors say that moving away from it would help meet President Biden’s goal of repairing America’s “world standing and vision of global prosperity.” Ecuador has been wracked by COVID-19 and ensuring debt default, so reworking the DFC deal would not soon be forgotten in Ecuador.
An excerpt:
A DFC committed to development, climate-friendly development, transparency and engaging with local stakeholders with better prices will get many customers…Reworking the Ecuador deal in that image is good development policy and good foreign policy that won’t be forgotten in Ecuador.
The full article can be read on The Hill‘s website. The op-ed was cited in a SupChina article published on March 19, 2021, which discusses the U.S. lending agreement with Ecuador.
Kevin Gallagher is a professor of global development policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he directs the Global Development Policy Center. He is author or co-author of six books, including most recently, The China Triangle: Latin America’s China Boom and the Fate of the Washington Consensus. Read more about Professor Gallagher on his Pardee School faculty profile.
Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007) and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more about Heine on his Pardee School faculty profile.