Development Assistance
Geopolitics and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway
The long-delayed, China-backed Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway opened to the public on 2 October, with the journey of its first bullet train bringing to a conclusion the…
Post-disaster aid in developing and fragile states
In the last 12 months, we’ve seen floods in Pakistan, earthquakes in Syria and Morocco, Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Storm Daniel in Libya.
What connects these events? Many…
The constrained ambition of Australia’s new development policy
The Australian government has released a new international development policy. Like all such policies, on its own it will not dramatically change the nature or performance of…
Chinese aid to the Pacific: decreasing, but not disappearing
Chinese engagement in the Pacific regularly hit the headlines in 2022, sometimes with dire warnings. The recent China–Solomon Islands security agreement sent shock waves across…
Building a better development finance institution: Australia’s opportunity
Last week, Roland Rajah and Jenny Gordon wrote illuminating pieces on the pros and cons of Australia setting up its own development finance institution, or DFI. The debate comes…
Development finance in Asia: a memoir
Book review: Takehiko Nakao, The Rise of Asia: Perspectives and Beyond. Memoir of the President of the Asian Development Bank 2013–2020 (Asian Development Bank, 2022)
In April…
Mapping Southeast Asian development assistance
Over the past two years, the global pandemic has had staggering economic and social impacts in Southeast Asia, pushing millions into extreme poverty. As economies slowly emerge…
Whipping the Covid-19 vaccine market into shape
The question of equitable Covid-19 vaccine distribution is likely to be an important topic of discussion at the upcoming G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in Rome during…
What Biden means for Australia’s aid policy
Joe Biden has taken the mantle of US president at a critical time for international development – amid a resurgence in poverty, increasing geopolitical contestation, rapid…
Policy Briefs
Avoiding a Pacific Lost Decade: Financing the Pacific's COVID-19 Recovery
The Pacific's post-pandemic economic revival will rely on an international
multi-year recovery package of grants and loans led by Australia