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Welcome to the Center for Global Development's Press Center!
The Center for Global Development’s communications team is standing by to assist reporters on deadline. Our experts can provide analysis, commentary, data, and unique expertise on the global development and economic issues that are driving the news cycle. You can search for experts by their area of expertise here. To arrange an interview or to be added to our press list, please contact Holly Shulman, CGD communications director, by phone or email at +1202.416.4040 and hshulman@cgdev.org.
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CGD in the News
November 13, 2018
Article
By Kimberly Ann Elliott
From the article:
Trade policy had a high profile in the run-up to last week’s midterm elections in the United States. With a blue wave in the House of Representatives and in many states, even as Republicans added to their majority in the Senate, two obvious questions arise. Did the widening trade war with China, and the narrower disputes with Europe and others over steel and aluminum, influence the outcome? And how will Democratic control of the House of Representatives affect U.S. trade policy for at least the next two years?
On the first question, it is difficult to detect a clear pattern linking President Donald Trump’s protectionism with electoral outcomes. On the one hand, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, which have been hit hard by China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports of soybeans, corn and pork, saw shifts toward Democrats in key races for governor and the House. On the other hand, North Dakota, which was hit by China’s agricultural retaliation, and Missouri, which had firms hit by the steel tariffs, replaced Democratic senators with Republicans. And it was likely a surprise to Trump that Democrats picked up House seats or governorships in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which were primary targets of his attacks on trade agreements as job killers in the 2016 campaign.
The problem with trying to use trade policies to sway voters is that they have mixed effects. Steel producers gain from higher tariffs, but all kinds of manufacturers that use steel face higher costs. And no Americans—except maybe lobbyists—are gaining from the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, Europe and others against U.S. exports. Wisconsin dairy farmers, for example, welcomed the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but they are disappointed that the expanded dairy market access they got in Canada is partially offset by Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against American steel. And Wisconsin-based Harley-Davidson got hammered twice—by higher input costs from the steel and aluminum tariffs, and by the retaliatory tariffs that the European Union imposed in response.
Read the full article here.
November 8, 2018
Article
By Gideon Maltz, Cindy Huang
From the article:
The discussion of refugees focuses too often on high-income countries in North America and Europe. In fact, it falls to a handful of middle- and low-income countries, such as Lebanon, Kenya, and Bangladesh, to host the majority of refugees around the world — and indeed to host refugees from intractable crises, such as Syria, Somalia, and Myanmar, that are likely to prevent refugees from returning for years or decades.
These countries bear a tremendous responsibility — and deserve more credit than they get from the international community — but too often they limit their own potential by preventing the refugee populations they host from working or owning a business.
In most of these countries — where 85 percent of the world’s 25 million refugees live — there is one policy in particular that is vital but rarely utilized: those preventing refugees from working legally or starting a business. Even in places where refugees technically have the right to work, fees, permits, and other restrictions can significantly restrict conditions.
Research shows that when refugees can work formally, they have more productive work, and can make more money — which in turn means that refugees spend more money on local goods and services and generate more tax revenue. When refugees start their own businesses, they create more jobs for hosts. In Turkey, Syrian refugees have started more than 6,000 companies and created more than 55,000 jobs since 2011, to the benefit of citizens and the economy.
Read the full article here.
November 8, 2018
Article
Note: Translated from German using Google Translate
By Tillmann Elliesen
From the article:
The main concern of European development policy at present is how to attract as many young men and women as possible in Africa in the coming years - so that they do not come up with the idea of emigrating to Europe. Donor countries such as Germany are launching employment programs to create new jobs in sub-Saharan Africa. According to a new study by the Center for Global Development in Washington. This is going in the wrong direction: Most people in Africa have no formal jobs but are employed in the informal sector. That is, they have their own small "company" or engage in casual work. This has always been the case on the continent and will remain so in the foreseeable future, write the authors, who evaluate their own and foreign research for their paper.
Read the full article here.
November 8, 2018
Article
By Tessa Richards
From the article:
How to reap the benefits of new technologies while keeping a tight rein on healthcare costs is a challenge all countries face, not least China. It spends a relatively modest 6.2% of GDP on health, but expenditure has been rising rapidly and is poised to soar further for its population of 1.39 billion is ageing and rates of non communicable disease increasing.
In response China has set up a new National Center for Medicine and Health Technology Assessment to inform decisions on which of the many new drugs, devices, and diagnostics coming on stream should be included in the country’s basket of care.
…
A reminder that countries’ health outcomes bear little relation to their health spend came from Kalipso Chalkidou, director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development. She also warned that “20 -40 % of expenditure on healthcare is wasted.” Countries must use health technology assessment as a policy tool to contain spending and drive more equitable care, she said. The evidence generated also helps negotiate prices and rules on reimbursement, and “China can lead the way here.”
Read the full article here.
November 6, 2018
Article
By Michael Igoe
From the article:
WASHINGTON — In the 18 months since the World Bank signed on as a partner to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the risks associated with the massive infrastructure investment effort have begun to crystalize, prompting some observers to ask just what kind of a partner the World Bank plans to be.
...
In 2019, the bank plans to release the results of its research into the economics of the massive initiative. Based on the information the bank has shared publicly so far, it seems to have a clearer picture of the potential benefits than it does of the potential risks of the initiative, said Scott Morris, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
“They’re doing some very good detailed data work, which will ultimately be helpful to the Chinese and to the countries that are participating. At a higher level, their overarching framing of it leans toward being too friendly to the initiative and isn’t playing the role of constructive critic as much as I would like them to be,” Morris said.
What would be more helpful, according to Morris, would be for the bank to look more closely and more critically at the principal lending institutions involved in Belt and Road.
“There are official lenders, and we know them — China Development Bank, China [Export-Import Bank] — these are the big ones. And if we simply made a priority of focusing on their priorities and practices, I think we would get a long way toward fixing problems,” he said.
Read the full article here.
November 6, 2018
Article
By IRIN
From the article:
Here’s the IRIN team’s weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
…
Humanitarian makeover
"Traditional humanitarian response remains plagued by deep power imbalances, needless rivalries between organisations, and perverse institutional incentives" – not a big revelation to regular IRIN readers, perhaps, but a blunt report card anyway. It comes from think tank Centre for Global Development (CGD), which is starting a new research project, running until 2020, analysing why reforms to the international humanitarian system have fallen short and what might work better. Initial lines of enquiry, according to a posting by Jeremy Konyndyk, a former US donor official and now a senior fellow at CGD, include: more clarity on how donors make decisions, delinking the UN's role in policy-setting from operational response, and looking again at a way to better define needs and response based more on local perspectives. The project is looking at three broad areas: business models, governance, and field practice. Earlier this year, we heard from another research project along similar lines, this time from the UK-based think tank Overseas Development Institute. The lead researcher wrote at the time that they had identified strong opportunities for a better system, but: "Change is elusive. It’s not fully within our power; it’s political, and we have little influence..."
Read the full article here.
November 6, 2018
Article
By Reality Check team
From the article:
Africa is facing a looming debt crisis, say leading development economists.
"Almost 40% of sub-Saharan African countries are in danger of slipping into a major debt crisis" according to the Overseas Development Institute, ahead of a major conference on debt being held in London this week.
And the relationship between African nations and China is often seen as a significant part of the problem.
…
Compared to institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and Paris Club (a group of 22 creditor nations not including China,) loans from China are seen by some as much quicker, cheaper, and come with fewer strings attached.
The United States in particular has been highly critical of China's approach.
Earlier this year, ahead of a visit to Africa, the then US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said China's lending policy to Africa "encouraged dependency, utilised corrupt deals and endangered its natural resources".
China's response was forthright. Its ambassador in South Africa, Lin Songtian, said China was proud of its influence in Africa and that Mr. Tillerson's comments were part of a smear campaign by the United States.
"China is just like any other lender," says Gyude Moore, a former Liberian Government official, and "China's strategic interest is in African countries paying back debts."
There are many examples of China supporting programmes to help with debt repayments, says Mr. Moore, who's currently a visiting fellow at the Centre for Global Development.
Read the full article here.
November 6, 2018
Article
By Kimberly Ann Elliott
From the article:
From 2004 to 2012, the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon dropped more than 80 percent, even as Brazil’s agricultural production continued to grow. But that progress in protecting a fragile and essential ecosystem reversed in recent years, before the outlook got even worse.
First, U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war with China, shifting more Chinese demand for soybean products from the United States to Brazil, potentially leading to more deforestation to meet the demands of Brazilian agriculture. Then, last month Brazilians elected the far-right Jair Bolsonaro as president, a major supporter of agribusiness who has vowed to put economic growth over environmental protection. That combination could mean a surge in deforestation in the Amazon with serious implications not just for the Brazilians most directly affected, but for the wider world.
The Amazon basin is home to the world’s largest rainforest. Its trees release carbon dioxide when cut down or burned, and sequester it when planted or left in place. The pace of deforestation, especially in tropical areas like Brazil, has become a major contributor to climate change, as large in the aggregate as the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions. Reversing those trends could reduce global emissions by even more—as much as 30 percent according to some estimates. Rainforests like the Amazon’s are also important for global biodiversity and local resilience. In addition to the ecological benefits it provides, biodiversity creates economic opportunities through eco-tourism and sources of new pharmaceutical products. Forests also contribute to localized amenities, such as clean water and protection from climate-related disasters that include flooding and mudslides, as well as drought. Reducing tropical deforestation could stem the temperature rise due to greenhouse gas emissions faster and more cost-effectively than other options, according to researchers at the Center for Global Development.
Read the full article here.
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