South–South Regional Financial Arrangements in the Twenty-First Century—Promise and Potential

As the world comes to grips with the devastating economic and public health consequences of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, Southern-led alternative institutions for finance and development seem more important than ever. This volume charts the dramatic change in the global financial and monetary landscape that has unfolded over the last few decades, in particular, through the expansion of Southern-led and Southern-oriented institutions and mechanisms. The change is profound, and it has moreover not stopped;the evolution of the Southern-led financial architecture is likely to continue, as the South not only adapts to changing global economic conditions, but changes them—increasing its role in global economic governance. This book takes stock of some of the most interesting adaptations and institutions led by the South with respect to short-term foreign liquidity and emergency finance. It focuses on common currency areas and payment systems designed to avoid exposure to volatile international currencies and to promote a more resilient pattern of interregional trade;the potential for the newly emergent Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) to play a more developmental role;and, the better known short-term liquidity mechanisms that pool foreign exchange reserves or serve as multilateralized swap arrangements that can provide countercyclical finance or liquidity to member countries, oftentimes more quickly and more generously than the International Monetary Fund (IMF). © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Southern-led development finance: Solutions from the global South

Southern-Led Development Finance examines some of the innovative new south-south financial arrangements and institutions that have emerged in recent years, as countries from the Global South seek to transform their economies and to shield themselves from global economic turbulence. Even before the Covid-19 crisis, it was clear to many that the global economy needed a reset and a massive increase in public investment. In the last decade southern-owned development banks, infrastructure funds, foreign exchange reserve funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds have doubled the amount of long-term finance available to developing countries. Now, as the world considers what a post-Covid-19 future will look like, it is clear that Southern-led institutions will do much of the heavy lifting. This book brings together insights from theory and practice, incorporating the voices of bankers, policymakers and practitioners alongside international academics. It covers the most significant new initiatives stemming from Asia, tried and tested examples in Latin America and in Africa, and the contribution of advanced economies. Whilst the book highlights the potential for Southern-led initiatives to change the global financial landscape profoundly, it also shows their varied impacts and concludes that more is needed for development than just the technical availability of funds. As governments and businesses become frustrated by the traditional North-dominated mechanisms and international financial system, this book argues that southern-led development finance will play an important role in the search for more inclusive, equitable and sustainable patterns of investment, trade and growth in the post-Covid landscape. It will be of interest to practitioners, policy makers, researchers and students working on development and finance everywhere. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Diana Barrowclough, Kevin P. Gallagher and Richard Kozul-Wright;individual chapters, the contributors.