Author: SusanEngel_uow

I am an Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies at the University the Wollongong. I lectures in the areas of development, international politics and political economy. I have a co-authored book with AR Bazbauers on The Global Architecture of Multilateral Development Banks: A System of Debt or Development? (Routledge, 2021), a 2010 book on the Word Bank in Southeast Asia and over 30 journal articles and chapters. I research multilateral development finance, development cooperation between the nations of the Global South, the role of emotions in development in particular in sanitation and microfinance programs, and teaching and learning in international studies. I worked in the government, community, and aid sectors before becoming an academic. I have volunteered with indigo foundation, a not-for-profit community development NGO since 2002.

Multilateral Development Banks: A system of Debt or Development?

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By Susan Engel and Adrian Bazbauers

Most people interested in development know about the World Bank and probably some of the bigger regional development banks, like the Asian Development Bank. But few people realise there is a system of 30 functioning multilateral development banks (MDBs). Indeed, we did not initially realise there were quite so many because there was no comprehensive tally or an academic study analysing them all. We set out to explore whether the MDBs work as a system and what role they play in promoting both debt and development so here is a short summary of some of our key finding on these three issues.

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