Economics blogs
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Financing sustainable infrastructure: a tale of two cities
9 January 2018How can cities in poor countries raise funds for major infrastructure projects? Sarah Colenbrander and Denise Chan look at two success stories and suggest how local governments can build their financial skills and credibility with investors
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China's outward public investment – good news for the environment and tackling poverty?
24 October 2017It's been a busy six months for China's outward public investment. Paul Steele, IIED's chief economist, reviews what's been happening and whether it's good news for the environment and development
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Are impact investors missing a trick by overlooking local communities?
7 September 2017Guest blogger Katharina Neureiter explores whether impact investors are missing a trick by not engaging with community groups
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BRICS summit: an opportunity to lead a fairer more sustainable world
3 September 2017Ahead of this week's BRICS summit, IIED's chief economist identifies two key ways the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa can fill the growing global political vacuum and promote sustainability
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Financial inequalities; defining our age
22 August 2017A decade on from the global financial crisis, can the world's banks and financial institutions learn about value and values from grassroots savings schemes that help the world's lowest-income people?
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Automation, the changing world of work, and sustainable development
17 August 2017Technological change, especially automation and digital innovation, are likely to have a profound impact on jobs in developing countries. Countries should act now to refocus their economic and social policies to make them more sustainable
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Shaking the money pot to protect nature
25 July 2017Nature gives us a lot: water, timber, minerals, biodiversity, food, clean air… But the perception that natural capital is endless and free leads to overuse and under-investment – and we constantly hear that there's not enough money to invest in the environment. The 22nd Poverty Environment Partnership conference asked how we can shake the piggy bank to give something back to nature
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Highs and lows of the transition to an inclusive green economy
31 March 2017Paul Steele reflects on the highs and lows emerging from this week's UN PAGE conference in Berlin, as leaders in sustainable development gathered to tackle what it takes for a global shift to economies that are fair and green.
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Money where it matters: how to deliver finance to the local level
15 December 2016At an IIED-hosted event, financiers, decision makers, practitioners and researchers tackled three key questions on how to get climate finance to where it's needed most
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Six steps to local climate finance
6 November 2016Evidence from community-focused initiatives suggests that climate and development funds can deliver local finance by adopting six key structural changes
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Should the Green Climate Fund flow to hydropower?
31 October 2016Jamie Skinner discusses whether tightening up standards to minimise social and environmental risks could shift the debate on hydropower
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The Green Climate Fund: will the vulnerable be overlooked in a rush to spend?
24 June 2016As the Green Climate Fund's board meets to decide on a second round of spending it needs to prioritise initiatives that will reach the climate vulnerable, rather than large-scale business as usual investments
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Expediting direct access to the GCF for least developed countries
9 May 2016The 10th community-based adaptation conference culminated in Dhaka last week with a strong message to engage communities in climate change action. This implies a greater role for local governments and communities in determining how climate-related decisions are made
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Forced to sell the roof over their heads
4 April 2016Compensation supports fisher families during a ban on hilsa fishing in Bangladesh – but a visit to a family in Govinda exposes the harsh realities of income loss
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Plunging oil prices: what happens to our oceans?
15 February 2016Falling oil prices might be benefiting the UK economy, but are the world's fish stocks paying the price?
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Shaking up the private sector
22 January 2016The private sector has a key role to play in the new sustainable development agenda, says IIED's Mick Blowfield, but let's keep multinationals' commitment to change in perspective
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What's happening to aid to the Least Developed Countries?
18 January 2016New figures show an overall decline in aid to the world's Least Developed Countries, yet commitments made in Paris and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda call for more aid, not less
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Workers in informal economy need say in global environmental agendas
7 December 2015The green economy will benefit from better relations between urban authorities and informal workers and enterprises. Guest blogger Donald Brown examines ways to achieve this
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Getting Green Climate Funding to the local level
28 October 2015As the Green Climate Fund meets to select projects for funding, is the current funding criteria prioritising a business as usual approach?
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Climate finance for sustainable development: regional forum
28 August 2015IIED is co-hosting a regional forum with UNDP in Jakarta, Indonesia, to share learning and experience on making sure climate finance works for sustainable development
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Making the climate fund fit for purpose
27 August 2015With the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) running on empty, and as the final stages of the negotiations leading up to the Paris climate conference (COP21) approach, climate negotiator Giza Gaspar Martins argues that the fund's future must be secured to support the world's 48 poorest countries
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Finance for inclusive investment in climate resilient development
3 August 2015Inclusive investment that allows the poorest to invest in climate-resilient development requires practical solutions, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda points the way, says Nanki Kaur
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Why universality is a taxing agenda…
20 July 2015IIED's director Andrew Norton reflects on the Financing for Development conference in Addis and the challenge of 'universality'
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Will new development banks help or hinder on climate change?
6 July 2015New development banks have the potential to both help and hinder efforts to tackle climate change. With development finance under scrutiny at the Addis Financing for Development conference, now is the time to ensure that they take climate change into account
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Development finance and climate finance: achieving zero poverty and zero emissions
1 June 2015Ahead of the Financing for Development conference in Addis, Paul Steele asks whether changes are needed to the way we address climate and development finance