COVID-19 has affected global value chains (GVCs) by interrupting transport and logistics, supply and production dynamics, and demand and consumption patterns. These effects have also been felt in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) across …

Africa’s engagement with China has grown considerably over the past two decades, and this growth trajectory is bound to continue. For African countries and China, it is important to take stock of the gains made. This policy briefing assesses the econom …

This briefing tracks some of the major macroeconomic impacts that COVID-19 has had on African economies and how the pandemic has exacerbated historical structural economic deficiencies across the continent. It also provides an early analysis of the sec …

The virtues of private sector financing in infrastructure development are widely promoted: it supports countries in bridging their infrastructure financing deficit, helps countries diversify their financing portfolio, brings projects online quicker, an …

Jair Bolsonaro – Brazil’s new president – has drawn the ire of many on the basis of his often-controversial utterances. Under his new conservative administration, there will be a clear priority shift in Brazil’s domestic and foreign policies. These cha …

As a result of globalisation and the concomitant increase in trade, countries need to find financing solutions that will ensure that their participation in the global trade arena serves their national growth agendas. Globally, export credit agencies (E …

Promoting African development priorities is at the core of South Africa’s engagement in global forums, including in the BRICS. This briefing discusses two key African priorities within the BRICS: industrialisation and infrastructure financing. It refle …

This paper explores both the efforts of the BRICS in advancing reforms in international financial institutions (IFIs), considering specifically how coherent and united the grouping has been in these efforts and the extent to which each member of the gr …

A stable, affordable energy supply underpins economic development by enabling infrastructure development and investment, and ultimately increases industrialisation and enhances competitiveness. Ensuring electricity security is therefore vital for all c …

Most countries consider infrastructure development as a key enabler of development, as it spurs job creation, trade and investment. For many developing countries, multilateral development banks (MDBs) are important in addressing their infrastructure fi …

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been the cornerstone of US-Africa trade relations since its inception in 2000. AGOA, which provides sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the US market for more than 6 000 product lines, has …

South Africa should argue the case for stronger economic cooperation within the grouping, despite the challenges in intra-BRICS economic relations as was observed in the paper. Firstly, while it appears that financial cooperation, specifically with reg …

A greater use of countries’ public financial management (PFM) and environmental and social frameworks (ESFs) could offer developing countries a larger stake in their development trajectory. Greater use of country systems (UCS) will also assist developi …

Multilateral development banks increasingly struggle to respond effectively to the needs of middle-income countries, influencing not only their potential development impact but also their own financial stability. This challenge has been driven by a cha …

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) increasingly struggle to respond effectively to the needs of middle-income countries (MICs). This has influenced not only their potential development impact but also their own financial stability. Part of the chall …

“As the US and Africa look to engage at the 2016 annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum under the theme of ‘Maximizing AGOA Now While Preparing for the Future beyond AGOA’, two pertinent issues come to the fore: leveraging AGOA until th …

“The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is set to issue its first loans in the second quarter of 2016. The bank, the latest addition to the global development finance landscape, was initiated due to a number of factors in emerging economies. One of the k …

“As the New Development Bank (NDB) gears up to extend its first loans in the second quarter of 2016, with its self-stated aim to ‘fund infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies’, it is important to consid …