timhirschelburns.bsky.social
Working at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center for a global economy that advances development and addresses climate change. Past: Oxfam, Yale Law, Benin. Views my own. https://timhirschelburns.substack.com/
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Here's the full list of my book recommendations for the summer, featuring Bluesky-ed authors including @sallyhayd.bsky.social @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social @brankomilan.bsky.social and others!
timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/10-books-f...
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Few things would do more for global growth, security, climate change, and poverty reduction than tackling the debt crisis.
The full report is here, and it's being covered widely in the media. It's up to global leaders to listen and act
ipdcolumbia.org/publication/...
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The Commission Pope Francis appointed has now published their report. They call for:
-A new round of comprehensive debt relief
-No bailouts to private creditors
-No austerity
-Legislation in NY State + UK
-Access to affordable, productive finance for developing countries
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But too many of the systemic factors remained that make developing countries vulnerable, and many are in a debt crisis once again.
Pope Francis wanted to stop this—both to address the current debt crisis and prevent future ones
foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/24/p...
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Coupled with mass action, like a 70,000-strong human chain surrounding the G8 summit, this led to the Highly-Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), which gave 37 countries debt relief to allow them to invest in their people.
Standards of living increased significantly
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Many developing countries also faced a debt crisis at the turn of the century.
Building on the biblical traditional of debt relief in jubilee years, Pope John Paul II made debt relief for poor countries a key part of the Jubilee Year of 2000.
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The report shows developing countries often have no choice but to borrow at high interest rates, leaving them vulnerable—and COVID-19 + interest hikes pushed many over the edge.
3.3 billion people now live in countries that pay more on the *interest* on their debts than health
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Here's my review thinking about what global abundance would mean, and how Abundance the book (less so the online abundance debate that is often unhinged on all sides...) echoes longstanding debates about global development
timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/abundance-...
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It's also the case that foreign aid is more popular than generally believed!
And if you take a nuanced look at the data, it actually seems that associations with military interventions are part of what drags down its popularity.
I wrote on this here
timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/foreign-ai...
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Thanks Tom, glad it was useful!
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Li Jinhua on behalf of DESA, who has facilitated this whole process, reiterates statements about how this has shown commitment to development.
Conference co-chair Portugal adjourns the meeting to hearty applause
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I forget their exact wording but at least the implication was that debt negotiations should take place in the G20 and not through a UN process.
In general, their message was that debt sustainability is important but were cautious on specific action items
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India reiterates position that international public finance must play a central role.
Multiple developing countries have praised the inclusion of common but differentiated responsibilities in the document and criticized developed countries for trying to walk it back
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Argentina, which has taken a Trumpian bent to the UN since Milei became president, makes a series of caveats about the Sustainable Development Goals, gender, and climate change.
But it did not withdraw from the process like the US, or object to consensus
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UK statement relatively supportive and expected, but interestingly they make a point to say this document waters down climate and nature ambition.
Also say it mischaracterizes agreements from the Paris Agreement and other processes
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Relatively balanced and muted statement from China. Support more ODA.
Reform of the Common Framework necessary but should be done within G20, focus on information sharing
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Brazil says that domestic resources and private finance important, but without increased resources from the Global North, the Sustainable Development Goals will not be achieved by 2030.
Backs outcome document while saying it's insufficiently ambitious, not due to co-facilitators
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Had to hop on a call just as post-adoption statements started to come in. (G77 was halfway through a relatively positive statement)
I'm hearing that the EU's statement disassociated from 50(f), the paragraph committing to initiating an intergovernmental process on debt at the UN
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Now gaveled in that the outcome document for #FfD4 is adopted with no objections.
(Because the US withdrew, they don't count as objecting)
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🚨US withdraws from the preparatory process, including outcome document, and will NOT attend the Financing for Development Conference.
It would be shocking if the US had not already abandoned any pretense of global leadership
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US says the outcome document calls for "costly, duplicative efforts" + US no longer reaffirms Sustainable Development Goals.
Says it infringes on mandates of other institutions (especially ones where the US is the only country that has a veto, unlike the more democratic UN...)
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There it is. Unlike everyone else, the US says it cannot agree to the outcome document for the UN Financing for Development Conference.
The rest of the world stands behind international cooperation and development. The US stands alone
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South Africa:
"The world is facing a sustainable development emergency that can only be addressed through collective action."
South Africa fully supports the outcome doc (now being called the Compromiso de Sevilla)
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Morocco says text doesn't meet all expectations but finds a compromise zone.
Say they choose multilateralism and adoption of the document. Action in the economic sphere will enable peace and prosperity
South Africa next, then the US after...
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EU cites achievements in doc including SDR rechanneling (inc. MDBs), enhancing developing countries' voice, debt (borrowers club, expand CF), gender, DRM, private finance
EU will join consensus. Remain committed to being leading dev partner, tho need others + private sector
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EU statement:
Agreeing an outcome document at some points looked like "mission impossible."
EU has said this conference about more than financing development--it's about showing that multilateralism still works.
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Co-facilitators stressing how much work it took to get to this #FfD4 outcome document.
Lok Bahadur Thapa of Nepal, also an outcome document co-facilitator, says "it can't be overestimated how much parties had to move from their stated positions"
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Co-facilitator of the outcome document, Alicia Buenrostro Massieu of Mexico:
"The conference has come to be seen as a test of multilateralism, whether we can still act collectively...we have passed this test."
Notes the hundreds of inputs they have received
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Co-chair Zéphyrin Maniratanga of Burundi: "Multilateralism is a choice, and members have made that choice."
Recognizes that the outcome document isn't perfect, and there have been difficulties. But says it's progress and urges members and stakeholders to stand behind it
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A couple live-tweeting notes:
I'll be doing my best to capture what's said, but watch the video to be sure.
I also have a call at 4 so I'll miss part of it!
I'll refer to the new version of the outcome document, which was released today here
financing.desa.un.org/sites/defaul...
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FFD conferences, as they're called, are rare events. This will be only the fourth ever, and the last was in 2015.
The ten years since have been dark ones for financing for development, as I explained here
www.bu.edu/gdp/2025/03/...
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For newcomers, what is FFD?
I'll have a blog out this week on this, but in short, it's the main UN process for setting the agenda for how to find the money needed to achieve global development.
It reflects the international community's view, but it's not legally binding
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PEPFAR is one of the best things the US has ever done.
The US saw a global challenge no one had an answer to and decided to fix it, at a tiny cost. It made people around the world admire the US.
And Trump and Elon tore it up for nothing
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It is just so shameful reading about how good some people are who have so little while people who have so much are so evil.
Like Pastor Billy, who lost his own sister to AIDS and now has taken 15 orphans into his home.
Or the man who shared his own medicine with Diana
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The administration also deflects by saying the US can't provide aid forever.
But even ignoring the fact that Zambia (GDP per capita=$1,300/yr) couldn't afford it, the Trump administration has no answer for why they cut it so chaotically.
Diana couldn't even get her medical file