Alumni

Dr. Tobias Broich

Thesis:
New Actors in the Global Economy: The Case of Chinese Development Finance in Africa

Year: 2017

Promotor(s):
Adam Szirmai & Kaj Thomsson

Abstract:

A “silent revolution” has taken place in the developing world: The rules of the game of international development cooperation between donor countries and recipient countries have begun to change as emerging economies like China have started to significantly increase their foreign finance to the developing world at the beginning of the 21st century.

Using the case of Chinese development finance in Africa, this book analyses, both theoretically and empirically, how the entry of players from the Global South like China into development finance game affects the current framework of international development cooperation between the traditional Western donors and investors on the one hand and African recipient countries on the other hand. 

What is the role of both Western and Chinese foreign aid in explaining current economic, political and institutional developments in Africa? Can the arrival of new actors in the global economy be regarded a significant game changer in the international development architecture, dominated by Western development ideas, finance and practices until recently? And if so, what are the mechanisms and channels at play through which powerful new actors such as China gain increasing bargaining power in the developing world? 

In order to answer these research questions, this dissertation uses a largely inter-disciplinary approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methodologies ?such as statistical and econometric analysis, descriptive statistics, historical documents, interviews based on fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia as well as formal tools of game theory.



Selected publications by Tobias Broich

UNU-MERIT