Author: Isabela Yamaguchi

Bailouts From Beijing: How China Functions as an Alternative to the IMF

Since China began lending large quantities of money to the Global South in the mid- 2000s, suspicions have swirled that these loans compete with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), offering comparable amounts of money in exchange for very different promises. Whereas the IMF conditions its loans on commitments to economic reform, China typically lends for […]

Resource Misallocation and Fiscal Decentralization: Evidence from China

China has experienced an unprecedented period of growth over the last three decades, partly reflecting big structural changes. Nonetheless, productivity has slowed in recent years, raising concerns about future growth prospects. On Wednesday, March 24, Marialuz Moreno Badia will discuss whether fiscal decentralization and associated regional disparities can explain resource misallocation in China. Using a […]

China-Latin America Economic Bulletin, 2021

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was hit hard in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. With one of the highest mortality rates in the world, the region also saw the worst economic slowdown of any global region, contracting by over seven percent last year. In this context, LAC’s relationship with […]

The Hierarchy of the Offshore US-Dollar System: On Swap Lines, the FIMA Repo Facility and Special Drawing Rights

While it has become common to regard the international monetary system as hierarchical, the nature, shape and origin of this hierarchy often remain vague.  Taking on board insights of critical macro-finance, this study from the Global Economic Governance Initiative at the Global Development Policy Center conceptualizes international monetary hierarchy by focusing on different mechanisms to […]

New Kids on The Block: China’s Arrival in Brazil’s Electric Sector

In a new working paper, Pedro Henrique Batista Barbosa examines the Chinese investments and loans in Brazil’s electric sector, more specifically in hydro, wind, solar, coal, biomass, oil and nuclear power segments from their onset in mid-2000s until 2019. Chinese presence in the Brazilian electricity sector has increased consistently and significantly in three aspects: investments, […]

Chart of the Week: The Fiscal Picture in China, 2020

By Yinan Zhang China has implemented a large fiscal stimulus in 2020 to counter the negative economic impact of COVID-19.  Up to September 2020, the fiscal support amounted to $707 billion (roughly 4.8 trillion renminbi) through spending and revenue measures (above-the-line (ATL) measures) and another $198 billion in liquidity support.  The health-sector related spending accounts […]

TRIPping Up: Why Global Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine Lies with the WTO

By Katie Gallogly-Swan  On Friday, December 11, the Global Development Policy (GDP) Center co-hosted a webinar with the South Centre on ‘Guaranteeing Access to Medicines: Reforming Trade and Investment Treaties in the COVID-19 Era,’ featuring Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre; Mustaqeem de Gama, Counsellor at the South Africa World Trade Organization (WTO) […]

Chart of the Week: China’s Economic Growth Amidst COVID-19

By Yinan Zhang In the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, China’s economic growth dipped into negative territory with a year-on-year growth of -6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, compared to growth rates above 6 percent in previous years.  As the epidemic got under control within China and support measures were deployed allowing the […]