Gallagher & Ray Publish Op-Ed on Latin American Debt Crisis
Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy and Director of the Global Development Policy Center at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, and Rebecca Ray, Senior Academic Researcher at the Global Development Policy Center, co-authored an op-ed in China Dialogue on Latin America’s looming debt crisis.
In the article, titled “China alone can’t solve Latin America’s looming debt crisis,” Gallagher and Ray discuss the three crises currently plaguing Latin America: the health crisis of COVD-19, the ensuing economic fallout, and the worsening environmental devastation in the region. Latin America is struggling to tackle any of these as they are projected to have the worst economic performance in the world. The two argue that China has the opportunity to lead a global debt relief effort that could help this region on the brink of disaster.
An excerpt:
If China acted bilaterally it could require borrowing nations to spend the relief funds to attack the virus and embark on a recovery that is both socially inclusive and low carbon. China’s leadership could make others follow.
The full op-ed can be read here.
Kevin Gallagher is a professor of global development policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he directs the Global Development Policy Center. He is author or co-author of six books, including most recently, The China Triangle: Latin America’s China Boom and the Fate of the Washington Consensus. Read more about him here.
Rebecca Ray is a Senior Academic Researcher at the Global Development Policy Center’s Global Economic Governance Initiative (GEGI). Since 2013, she has focused her GEGI research on Latin America, including the annual China-Latin America Economic Bulletin series, the book project China and Sustainable Development in Latin America: the Social and Environmental Dimension, and her current project, Safeguarding Sustainable Development in the Andean Amazon.