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Financing for Development: The Global Agenda

March 20, 2025

A study under the Cambridge Elements in Development Economics series by UNU-WIDER in partnership with Cambridge University Press.

The reform of the international financial and tax systems has been at the center of global debates in recent years –in the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD and the G20. The fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development that will take place in Spain in 2025 also represents a great opportunity to enhance global cooperation in this area.

This Element analyzes six elements of the global financing for development agenda, which are dealt with in individual sections: the role and evolution of development financing; the international monetary system; sovereign debt restructuring; international tax cooperation; international trade; and critical institutional issues. Although focusing on the international agenda, many of these issues have domestic implications for developing countries. The analysis covers both the nature of cooperation and recommendations on how to improve it. 

Visit the original study published on Cambridge University Press here.