Sri Lanka received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March amid soaring inflation, debt and a sovereign default. In exchange for US$3 billion (£2.4 billion), the government committed to spending cuts and tax and financial sector reforms. These have prevented Sri Lankan wages from recovering after they fell by almost half in real terms during the preceding financial crisis, leading to protests in the streets of Colombo. Sri Lankans’ experience of these measures has been far from uniform. Emerging evidence indicates that the government — led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, part of ..read more

Comedians Seth Meyers (far right) and Amber Ruffin (right) spoofed the 'White Saviour' complex in a fake movie segment on the 'Late Night With Seth Meyers.' Lloyd Bishop/NBC A little while ago, two comedians on a late-night show poked fun of the “white saviour complex.” It’s the idea that people of colour, whether in the Global South or in the West, need “saving” from a white western person or aid worker. The comedians, Seth Meyers and Amber Ruffin, were talking about representation in movies, but the issue of white saviourism and colonial attitudes, especially in international development, is ..read more

Developing countries are calling for more funding and for changes at the World Bank. Sean Gallup/Getty Images Leer in español Something significant is happening in the desert in Egypt as countries meet at COP27, the United Nations summit on climate change. Despite frustrating sclerosis in the negotiating halls, the pathway forward for ramping up climate finance to help low-income countries adapt to climate change and transition to clean energy is becoming clearer. I spent a large part of my career working on international finance at the World Bank and the United Nations and now advise public d ..read more

People wait in line for a free morning meal in Los Angeles in April 2020. High and rising inequality is one reason the U.S. ranks badly on some international measures of development. Frederic J. Brown/ AFP via Getty Images The United States may regard itself as a “leader of the free world,” but an index of development released in July 2022 places the country much farther down the list. In its global rankings, the United Nations Office of Sustainable Development dropped the U.S. to 41st worldwide, down from its previous ranking of 32nd. Under this methodology – an expansive model of 17 categori ..read more

Female police officers working with the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Liberia participate in a parade in 2008. UN Photo/Christopher Herwig The United Nations has about 74,000 peacekeepers in uniform stationed in a dozen conflict zones around the world. It’s easy to spot them in their signature light blue helmets. It’s harder to find a woman among them. There are military experts, police and infantry units who come from 121 countries to help maintain peace. Just 8% of peacekeepers are women. This is a significant increase from 15 years ago – when the number of peacekeepers was about the same as ..read more

Several countries, including Bangladesh, are facing increasing flooding as sea levels rise. AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu After another year of record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather disasters, wealthy countries are under pressure to make good on their commitment to mobilize US$100 billion a year to help poorer countries deal with climate change. Developed countries now project that they won’t meet that pledge until 2023 – three years late and still woefully short of the real need. A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released Feb. 28, 2022, provides more ev ..read more

Reducing fossil use and increasing renewable energy worldwide are crucial to both sustainable development and fighting climate change. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Two important global events are coming up that are widely hoped to help address what the United Nations calls the “dual challenge” – fighting climate change and ensuring that poorer countries can develop sustainably. Energy is a central theme in both. For the first time in 40 years, the U.N. General Assembly is convening a global summit of world leaders focused solely on energy. If all goes as planned on Sept. 24, 2021, they will consi ..read more

The latest IMF and World Bank reports show a global economic boom gathering steam. This is thanks to US$16 trillion in fiscal stimulus packages spent mostly across the world’s rich nations since the pandemic began. After the reversal of 2020, the global economy is now projected to grow by 6% in 2021, powered by strong growth in the US and China, which are forecast to grow by 6% and 8%, respectively. Australians are not missing out, thanks to A$311 billion in public spending. The federal budget’s GDP growth forecast is 4.25% in 2021. Unemployment is forecast to fall to below 5% by mid-2023. Bef ..read more

Riccardo Mayer / shutterstock In 2019, an international climate fund approved a ten year US$9.3 million project to support communities in the drylands of Mozambique that are affected by frequent droughts. This money seems a lot, but it really is not much for a country also affected by other climate-related events such as cyclones. Indeed, the World Bank estimates Mozambique needs at least US$400 million a year to protect itself from climate change. The difference between the amount of money that developing countries, such as Mozambique, need and what they get from developed countries begins t ..read more

Democracy is having a hard time. In India, once the world’s largest democracy, the pandemic has hastened the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. In the US, the Trump administration’s attacks on democratic norms reached new lows when the former president, backed by the Republican party, refused to accept his loss in the November 2020 elections. In fact studies show democratic norms are in decline worldwide. Freedom House recently argued that democracy has been declining since 2005, while the latest report from the Varieties of Democracy Institute reveals that 68% the world’s population no ..read more