The Finance for Development Lab is an independent non-profit, non-partisan think-tank dedicated to building a fairer and more effective architecture for international finance.
Acting as a hub for policy discussions, the Lab collaborates with think-tanks, researchers, and other key stakeholders across the Global South to generate constructive ideas, craft innovative proposals, and influence global policymakers, with a particular focus on G20 countries and Bretton Woods institutions.
The Lab is housed at the CEPREMAP, a leading French research institute located within the Paris School of Economics. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, the global financial architecture is increasingly unable to finance the Sustainable Development Goals and to support countries in the fight against climate change.
Furthermore, we believe that the interests of low- and middle-income countries are currently not adequately represented in global decision centres, jeopardising their ability to achieve sustainable development.
The Lab’s mission is to fill existing knowledge and perception gaps by serving as a specialised research and discussion forum specifically focused on development finance and debt related issues. We do so by collaborating with research partners across the Global South, and disseminating recommendations among international decision centres. To achieve our mission, we provide experts in developing countries with research support, and with assistance in disseminating and channelling their ideas and policy proposals as effectively as possible.
Our work is organised around three key pillars: financing, debt and multilateralism.
Financing models need to be adapted to today’s context of recurrent crises
• Better allocate Special Drawing Rights and extend the Global Financial Safety Net
• Improve investment from private sources to help advance sustainable development.
Debt sustainability is increasingly fragile. Our proposals focus on:
• Fostering more collaborative approaches between creditors and debtors
• Redefine the role of international organisations
• Revising our understanding of debt sustainability
Multilateralism is in danger and development finance is increasingly fragmented:
• Better understand the role of emerging lenders
• Foster mutual understanding between key stakeholders
