New GDP Center study reveals findings that challenge a common assumption about infrastructure finance + deforestation.

Although previous studies show substantial overlap between Chinese-financed projects and environmentally sensitive areas, those results do not measure realized Using the GDP Center's China’s Overseas Development Finance (CODF) Database, the new paper shows no support of meaningful differences when comparing project-timed forest change between Chinese-financed and other infrastructure projects.

Simply, Chinese overseas infrastructure finance does not exacerbate forest loss.

Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/10/28…

#COP17Armenia #Biodiversity #Nature #China #CBDCOP17

Meet the 2026-27 GDP Center Pre- and Post-doctoral Research Fellows!

9️⃣ outstanding scholars join us from a multitude of universities, including @BU_Tweets, @UofIllinois and Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.

Get to know each fellow and learn about hey are working on: bu.edu/gdp/2026/10/19…

Interested in joining the 2027-28 cohort? Learn more and apply today: bu.edu/gdp/2026/10/19…

Last week, the GDP Center joined policymakers, academics and civil society organizations in Bangkok, Thailand for the 2026 Annual Meetings of the @WorldBankGroup and @IMFNews.

From the need for stronger ambition from the Bretton Woods Institutions to the urgency of designing nd established frameworks, our experts shared evidence-backed recommendations for reforming the international financial architecture to support development.

#2026AnnualMeetings #AM2026Thailand

@KevinPGallagher @rishirbhandary @MarinaZucker

We're recruiting pre- and post-doctoral fellows for the 2027-2028 GDP Center Fellowship Program.

The program trains the next generation of thought leaders to advance policy-oriented, interdisciplinary research on global economic governance and sustainable development. The obal China Fellows Program, which supports policy-oriented research on China’s overseas economic activities and its engagement with international institutions and the Global South.

Learn more + apply: bu.edu/gdp/2026/10/19…

The GDP Center is on the ground in Bangkok for the #2026AnnualMeetings of the #IMF and #WorldBank, bringing research to policy dialogues to push for a bigger, more effective, and more inclusive global financial system that is adapted to the complex crises countries are facing MF and World Bank are not meeting this moment.

More from GDP Center Director @KevinPGallagher on how we’re turning evidence into action at #AM2026Thailand ⬇️

The GDP Center mourns the loss of Perry Mehrling, an economist and distinguished scholar with long-lasting contributions to the economics field.

As a professor at @BUPardeeSchool and a core faculty member of the GDP Center, Dr. Mehrling's impact was prolific. He developed and that helped economists, policymakers and students understand how global financial system works.

Perry Mehrling was a valued member of the BU community and beyond. He will be sorely missed, but his highly influential body of work and reputation will ensure his legacy endures.

Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/10/13…

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation #FOCAC has been the main diplomatic channel through which China and 53 African countries set the agenda for their partnership.

With the next FOCAC summit set for 2027, a policy brief outlines priorities for China-Africa energy and climate s identify where African countries hold negotiating leverage and define what success should look like at the summit.

Read more: bit.ly/4yh8s0M

#China #Africa #SouthSouthCooperation #Energy #Climate

There is no single media narrative about #China's economy, and those differences may matter more than we think.

A new study from the GDP Center reveals that Chinese- and English- language media can portray China's economy differently, even when reporting on the same underlying identifies a growing "perception gap" and finds that differences in media sentiment are linked to how financial markets and policymakers respond to economic developments.

Understanding these differing narratives and their real-world implications is increasingly important for economists, policymakers, and global leaders to understand China's role in the #GlobalEconomy.

Read more: bit.ly/3WdZAf2

🗓️ Next week on the sidelines of the @IMFNews/@WorldBankGroup Annual Meetings in Bangkok, the Task Force on Climate, Development and the International Financial Architecture will convene a high-level in-person event to explore how the Global South is reshaping the international
RSVP: bit.ly/4dqnrOJ

Over the last year, 10 parties have signed on to Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs) with the US, a novel form of trade agreement with implications for countries in the Global South.

As countries weigh their options, a new blog by @Thrasher_Rachel and @TimH_B advocates for vation of policy space for development as much as possible.

Read more: bit.ly/4y4NXEJ

Across 4️⃣ case studies spanning Europe, South Korea and beyond, @TimH_B's International Investment Pushes blog series explored past large-scale mobilizations of finance that both rivaled the scale of climate and development finance needed today and were relatively successful at he final installment synthesizing and concluding the blog series draws 3️⃣ key lessons applicable to the present: bit.ly/4ydtfmg

The GDP Center believes that international collaboration is essential to advancing development research that places Global South perspectives at its core.

Since 2017, the Center has partnered with 87 organizations across 26 countries and globally, including academic ks, civil society organizations and multilateral institutions.

Read more about our partnerships in our FY26 Annual Report: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/02…

⚡️Amid rising energy costs, how can communities gain more control over their energy system? A new ECI blog explores Local Power Networks as a cleaner, more resilient, community-centered solution: bu.edu/eci/2026/09/17…
#CleanEnergy #CommunityEnergy #LPNs

Early retirement of the coal-fired power plants in Pakistan 🇵🇰 has benefits beyond climate and environmental goals.

A new report with @SDPIPakistan reveals that a strategic coal transition can simultaneously improve fiscal sustainability, strengthen energy security and reduce nalyzes seven Chinese-financed coal plants developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which account for 90 percent of Pakistan’s installed coal capacity. While these plants played a decisive role in improving energy security by adding around 6,600 MW of generation capacity since 2017, the report proposes a new path forward for both #Pakistan 🇵🇰 and #China 🇨🇳.

Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/09…

#EnergyTransition #coalphaseout #sustainability #climateaction

We're excited to share the latest GDP Center Annual Report covering FY26!

Highlights from this past year:
💡Our researchers published 125 works, including 32 articles across high-impact journals.

💡The Center has now partnered with 87 organizations across 26 countries and demic institutions, think tanks, civil society organizations and multilateral institutions.

💡GDP Center work reached a global audience with 942 media mentions and 40 opinion pieces and commentaries.

💡Across Boston University, this year we had 59 Core and Affiliate Faculty members, 24 pre- and post-doctoral research fellows and 26 BU student employees.

See the highlights and read the full Annual Report here with our biggest success stories and impact from the last year: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/02…

📊 Data has the power to reveal patterns that can inform decision-making. During #ClimateWeekNYC on Thurs., 9/24 at 9:30 AM EDT, join us and @NZpolicylab for an event launching a database on the cleantech manufacturing FDI landscape and what these patterns mean for the deals
Learn more and register: luma.com/vsgye5e4

In the fifth episode in the China Rules series, we look at China’s efforts to reshape to global financial system. One milestone has been the recent designation of Deutsche Bank as a renminbi clearing house. (1/4)

💸 Last month, the world’s major central bankers converged upon Jackson Hole, Wyoming during a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Amid the uncertainty, recent data reveals central bankers are increasingly considering reserve asset diversification.

A new blog by @MarinaZucker kes the case for a new relatively safe international reserve asset: Sustainable Future Bonds—a perpetual, fixed-income hybrid capital instrument issued by multilateral development banks.

Read more: bit.ly/4rkRqx5

With the rise of new multilateral development banks, advocates seeking to shape the environmental + social dimensions of development finance now need a reappraisal of strategy.

In a new working paper, GDP Center Pre-doctoral Fellow Andrea Zhu analyzes the case of environmental geting the @AIIB_Official.

She finds that current transnational advocacy hasn't fully grasped the distinctive institutional features and has limitations in making real changes.

Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/04…

💭 How does moving upstream in global value chains (GVCs) affect workers? A new working paper from the GDP Center addresses this research gap with a 1995-2020 sample of 67 countries and 45 industries.

The findings indicate that reverting to a more preliminary production stage e in real terms: bit.ly/3UzhrMX