Over the past two decades, many developing countries have made remarkable progress in reducing poverty, expanding access to education and health care, and investing in infrastructure. These gains were the result of sound national policies and coordinated efforts by the international community, often financed through responsible borrowing.
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The idea behind debt-for-development swaps is straightforward: A country exchanges its expensive debt for cheaper debt, often supported by a credit enhancement like a guarantee, and then redirects the savings into development spending.
Continue readingFinancial Squeeze on Poorest Economies Tightened as Private Creditors Retreated
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2024—Developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion to service their foreign debt as their interest costs climbed to a 20-year high in 2023, the World Bank’s latest International Debt Report shows. Interest payments surged by nearly a third to $406 billion, squeezing the budgets of many countries in critical areas such as health, education, and the environment.
From the COVID-19 pandemic to advanced-economy interest-rate hikes, developments over the last few years have left many developing economies struggling to repay their debts. But the problem might be even bigger than the world realizes, as many sovereign debts are hidden, undisclosed, or opaque. This prevents policy makers and investors from making informed decisions.
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Some developing economies are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Global inflation is receding and global interest rates appear to have peaked, prompting a bond-issuance rush by these economies to refinance their debt before the opportunity vanishes. In early January, Mexico, Indonesia, and several other developing economies easily raised more than $50 billion from bond investors.
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Switching to greener technologies in construction and operation of buildings and materials, combined with more climate-friendly capital markets, could reduce the construction value chain’s carbon footprint 23 percent by 2035, while creating investment opportunities in emerging markets, according to a major report from the International Finance Corporation.
In the 1990s, I embarked on a journey that took me from the classrooms of Paris to the
dusty countryside of Paraguay. Little did I know then that my diverse experiences, from peddling goods door-to-door to advising governments, would shape my role as an economist specializing in infrastructure and development. Now, as the Chief Economist for Infrastructure at the World Bank, I stand at the intersection of a complex global landscape.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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