Center for Global Development

The Center for Global Development is an independent, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington D.C. and London. CGD works to reduce global poverty and improve lives through innovative economic research that drives better policy and practice by the world's top decision makers. Over the next two years, CGD will be conducting rigorous research and proposing practical solutions to drive broader mandates, better governance, and modern business models at the multilateral development banks.

Recent Posts

Rightsizing the MDB System in the Polycrisis Era

November 8, 2022

For both rich and poor countries, the climate crisis is no longer looming. It is all around them. Yet, as thousands gather in Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27, scientists have just confirmed that we are nowhere near where we need to be on greenhouse gas emissions reductions. We can expect a raft of finance promises to emerge from the meetings, many focused on contributions to the arbitrary climate finance target of $100 billion per year, first set in 2009.  But very credible analysis suggests that we need an additional $1.3 trillion [...]

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Our Wish List for the World Bank’s Evolution Roadmap

November 7, 2022

The assignment is clear. During this year’s Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, shareholders instructed the World Bank to develop a work program for its own evolution (“to identify gaps in the Bank’s current institutional and operational framework…”) by the end of the year. Secretary Yellen led the evolution charge, noting, “We do not yet have a sufficiently robust toolkit to address, with scale and urgency, our global and cross-border challenges.”  World Bank announcements of rising volumes and shares of climate finance before the meetings did not suffice [...]

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Is World Bank Lending a Hot Ticket in a Global Credit Crunch?

November 1, 2022

World Bank loan terms are becoming increasingly attractive as global interest rates soar. This is not because IBRD loans have gotten cheaper, but because the average emerging market’s borrowing costs have risen so much more dramatically than IBRD loans prices. As a result, the spread between an IBRD loan and the price that the “average” EM would likely get in the market today has nearly doubled from less than 5 percent in 2020 to over 8 percent. If these trends persist, EMs could soon be banging on MDB doors in [...]

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Latin America and the Caribbean at a Crossroads: What Agenda and Role for the Inter-American Development Bank?

October 24, 2022 Eastern Time

This event will be broadcast in Spanish and English. COVID-19 and related economic shocks have had important but heterogeneous impact across the Latin American and Caribbean region, which also faces elevated climate risks, increasing rates of poverty, declining life expectancy in some countries, and unprecedented rates of crime and violence. The International Monetary Fund now forecasts average growth of 1.7% in 2023 with high levels of inflation.  The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) could play a transformational role in supporting its borrowing member countries, partnering with governments to deliver on progress [...]

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