Riley Duke

Research Fellow, Pacific Aid Map
Areas of expertise

Pacific Islands aid and development; development finance; sovereign debt; China’s foreign assistance and overseas lending

Riley Duke
Biography
Publications
News and media

Riley Duke is a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute and lead author of the Institute's Pacific Aid Map. His research areas include aid and development policy in the Pacific, development finance, sovereign debt, China’s foreign aid, and Chinese state-backed lending. His commentary and research have featured in Australian and international news outlets, including The Economist, The New York Times, Reuters, The Guardian, Australian Financial Review, Al Jazeera, and Nikkei. Riley also holds a Special Advisory position with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Prior to joining the Institute in 2022, Riley worked as an intern at the Institute for Economics and Peace. He holds a Master of International Relations from the University of Sydney.

Vanuatu: The challenge to build back
Vanuatu: The challenge to build back
A crippling earthquake will test Vanuatu’s already fragile political and economic system.
China’s Pacific aid is rebounding and recalibrated
China’s Pacific aid is rebounding and recalibrated
Minor increases in spending and a surge in new deals signal renewed Chinese aid ambition in the region.
Pacific Aid Map 2024 - Key Findings Report
Report
Pacific Aid Map 2024 - Key Findings Report
The annual Pacific Aid Map — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — is a comprehensive database tracking official development finance (ODF) flows in the Pacific Islands region…
Pacific Aid Map 2024
Interactive
Pacific Aid Map 2024
A comprehensive database tracking official development finance (ODF) flows in the Pacific Islands region, the seventh edition of the Pacific Aid Map encompasses the period from…
Pacific education: Backsliding outcomes and a financing freefall
Pacific education: Backsliding outcomes and a financing freefall
Education indicators were already flat or falling before the pandemic and are getting worse. But development priorities are focused elsewhere.
Fragmented and burdensome: Small European donors are clogging Pacific aid channels
Fragmented and burdensome: Small European donors are clogging Pacific aid channels
Competition, political self-interest, and poor coordination are overburdening the region’s administrations.
The Translator: The nomenclature of foreign aid
The Translator: The nomenclature of foreign aid
A series in which experts explain the sometimes baffling jargon of international affairs.
A new China loan threatens Vanuatu’s debt outlook
A new China loan threatens Vanuatu’s debt outlook
A new major infrastructure project could leave the country on the road to debt distress.
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