China and the Hidden Politics of Global Aid

About this episode

Keyi Tang discusses how political influences affect the distribution of development finance in Africa, based on her research and new book.

The development finance industry would like us to believe that money for infrastructure, education, and other needs goes to where it's needed most. The reality, though, isn't that simple. Politics, it turns out, plays a much more important role than many would like to admit. Keyi Tang, an assistant professor at ESADE Business School in Spain, studied development finance data on 48 African countries over a 20-year period that revealed that money often flows to those who hold influence rather than to those who need it most. Keyi joins Eric to discuss the findings that she recently published in her new book, "Power Over Progress: How Politics Shape Development Finance in Africa." 📌 Topics Covered in this Episode Political forces shaping development finance How China compares to Western lenders Why aid often favors politically strategic regions The role of domestic elections and power dynamics Structural inequalities in the global finance system The rise of borrower coordination efforts Impact of shrinking Western and Chinese funding How civil society can drive accountability Show Notes: Cambridge University Press: Power Over Progress: How Politics Shape Development Finance in…

People in this episode

Host: Eric

Guest: Keyi Tang

Topics covered

• Political forces shaping development finance
• China vs Western lenders
• Aid and political strategy
• Domestic elections and power dynamics
• Global finance system inequalities
• Borrower coordination efforts

Keywords

• development finance
• Africa
• politics
• China
• Western lenders
• aid distribution
• influence
• structural inequalities
• borrower coordination

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ESADE Business School

Books & works: Power Over Progress: How Politics Shape Development Finance in Africa

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