Ideas to Action:

Independent research for global prosperity

Views from the Center

CGD experts offer ideas and analysis to improve international development policy. Also check out our Global Health blog and US Development Policy blog.

 

Chart showing falling US pledges to IDA and rising Chinese pledges to IDA
December 19, 2019

The US and China Have Very Different Takes on IDA and the Global Fund: Why that Matters for the Future of Multilateral Aid

When it comes to the United States, the reality is that the Global Fund is winning the fundraising game hands down. China, meanwhile, doubled its contribution to IDA—contrast that with the country’s longstanding indifference to the Global Fund. Clearly the world’s most important emerging donor views the multilateral architecture differently than the world’s most important traditional donor does.

Amanda Glassman and Scott Morris
Photo of the development leaders conference in Beijing
December 4, 2019

Fostering Development Cooperation: A Development Leaders Conference

How can the development community truly harness the power of this cooperation and come together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals? Last month, the Center for Global Development again hosted the Development Leaders Conference, this time in Beijing in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Mikaela Gavas
Adobe Stock image of a pile of coins with a rising bar graph overlaid
October 24, 2019

HIPC with Chinese Characteristics: Why Yesterday’s Debt Relief Is the Wrong Point of Reference for Today’s Crises

Concerns about rising debt risks in developing economies were front and center at the annual meetings. HIPC is a useful reference point as we talk about a new round of debt crises. But thanks to the rise of China as a lender, the creditor community today looks much different from the HIPC creditor community—with implications for any resolution to a debt crisis.

Scott Morris
An industrial welder at work. Adobe Stock
October 11, 2019

Netflix’s “American Factory” and the New Geography of Manufacturing

Perhaps the most surprising was how similar these scenes playing out in America are to those I’ve seen in Africa. To be sure, many of the factories I visited in Africa were smaller-scale and simpler in their operations than the Ohio glass plant in American Factory. But some Chinese-owned factories in Africa are similarly large-scale and technologically advanced, and no matter the size of the factory, I witnessed many of the same struggles to find cross-cultural understanding, to teach workers genuinely difficult skills, and to withstand the pressure of a highly competitive, global industry.

Irene Yuan Sun
Construction cranes around a building going up
August 12, 2019

The Myth of Chinese Exceptionalism in Africa

Chinese firms are a critical, rising force in African economies, yet many of us balk at the hype and hysteria about Chinese businesses in Africa. Using new data, a report finds that there's nothing unique about the way Chinese firms operate in Africa.

Irene Yuan Sun

Pages

Tags

Experts

By Date