Politicians and project-sponsors often present infrastructure projects as promised growth, mobility, jobs, or cleaner energy. After the ribbon-cutting a harder question remains: who pays when something goes wrong? In infrastructure and project finance, advisors and lenders describe this as a technical question of “risk allocation.” And in politics, it surfaces as corruption scandals, fiscal crises […]
Tag: World Bank
The Rise of Developing Nations from the Chinese Net Decline
As cranes dotted skylines across Nairobi, Colombo, and Karachi in 2013, China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) had sprung into full velocity. Pouring over $1 trillion into developing countries symbolized their promise to rewrite the global economic map. However, today, those exact cranes remain inactive. The dozens of lower-middle-income nations that had once received […]
Weighing Education Against Women’s Rights In Tanzania
When Mwajuma was fifteen and living in Shinyanga, Tanzania, her parents informed her she would have to drop out of school. She was getting married. Such instances of child marriage are not uncommon in Tanzania. It’s ingrained in the culture and in the law; the 1971 Law of Marriage Act allows girls to legally get […]
Nambian President to Tump: Don’t Forget the Small States
On September 20th, the people of Nambia were thrilled to hear the president of the United States, Donald Tump, recognize our nation for the inroads we have made against the scourge of infectious diseases. While I am pleasantly surprised President Tump demonstrated awareness of the affairs of smaller states like our own, as President of […]
A Friendship Gone Astray
The Growing Divide in Chinese-African Relations In December 2015, President Xi Jinping was declaring Zimbabwe to be China’s “all-weather friend.” Less than a year later, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe was accusing the Chinese of undermining his nation’s economy and “taking advantage” of Zimbabwe’s women. This seemingly rapid transition in relations might appear to be unexpected, […]
The AIIB: China’s Economic Evolution
According to the International Monetary Foundation (IMF), the economies of the Asia-Pacific region are growing rapidly, and are expected to account for almost half of global GDP by 2030. However, sustainable, long-term economic growth requires a sound infrastructure network to facilitate the transportation of ideas and goods in the increasingly connected global economy, yet the […]