Abstract
Chinese mammoth investment projects abroad, and especially those under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella, are receiving heavy scrutiny in academic and policy circles. However, there is insufficient empirical evidence to evaluate their impact. This paper employs a difference-in-differences approach and a pair of new datasets on government spending and economic activity compiled by the World Bank to examine the local impacts of the Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan. It finds that government spending increased disproportionately in CPEC districts following the 2013 announcement of the flagship initiative. However, CPEC was only associated with a limited increase in economic activity in the districts along its path—and did not lead to improvements in living standards for local populations.
Presenters
David LandryAssistant Professor of the Practice, Global Studies, Duke University, North Carolina, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Development Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Public Spending; Economic Development; China
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