Latest Research and Commentary

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  Later Entrance into Primary School May Improve Education, Health and Economic Outcomes – Evidence from Lesotho

  Starting school at an older age may result in greater health, educational, and economic well-being among children in low- and Read more

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  Why Competitive Politics Can Pull Development Finance Away from Need

  By Keyi Tang As development finance tightens, the most important question may not be who is lending, but how domestic Read more

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  Commodity-Price-Linked Bonds: Enhancing Debt Resilience in Commodity-Dependent Economies

  By early 2025, debt servicing pressures had intensified. Interest payments exceed 10 percent of government revenues in 56 developing countries—double Read more

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  Disentangling Decision-Making: Chinese Infrastructure Finance in Africa

  By Tianyi Wu In 2016, China committed $28.8 billion in infrastructure loans to African countries––a record peak that has been Read more

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  Resurgence to Retirement: Global Insights on Transitioning Away from Coal

  By Kaihui Song The year 2025 recorded the largest net addition to global coal capacity in over a decade, driven Read more

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  From Paradigm Maintenance to Paradigm Shift: A Mood Change on Industrial Policy

  By Richard Kozul-Wright Last month, the World Bank announced the return of Industrial Policy for Development in a report described Read more

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  Impact in Action: GDP Center at the 2026 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings

  This week, global economic leaders, policymakers and civil society representatives gathered in Washington, DC for the 2026 Spring Meetings of Read more

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  Climate Change and External Fragility: Lifeline Fund as a Financial Arrangement for V20 Countries

  On the sidelines of the 2026 World Bank & International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings, the Barbados Presidency of the Read more