{"title":"Innovative Finance for Development? Vaccine Bonds and the Hidden Costs of Financialization","authors":"Sarah Hughes-McLure, E. Mawdsley","doi":"10.1080/00130095.2021.2020090","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Innovative finance is now considered essential to mobilize the trillions projected as required to meet the sustainable development goals. The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), which issues vaccine bonds, is an emblematic example of innovative finance in global health and development. Since its launch in 2006, IFFIm has played a leading role in developing social bonds and funding global health, securing over $8 billion in donor commitments, and disbursing over $3 billion to date to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Adopting a follow the money approach, we set out a significant, evidence-based challenge to some of the dominant development claims around innovative development finance more widely and IFFIm in particular. We find evidence of nontrivial private profit making, hiding in plain sight, at the expense of beneficiaries and donors. Through advanced critical financial analysis, we reveal precisely who benefits and by how much. Furthermore, our analysis shows in detail how financialization reduces political control over aid, and the uneven spatial distribution of material rewards and political power. While IFFIm delivers on its claim to front-load aid commitments and makes a significant contribution to global health, the article asks whether the economic and political costs of innovative financing mechanisms are worth it. We finish by showing that alternative models for vaccine finance are possible. A postscript provides a brief account of how IFFIm has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":48225,"journal":{"name":"Economic Geography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":7.2000,"publicationDate":"2022-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Economic Geography","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00130095.2021.2020090","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
Abstract Innovative finance is now considered essential to mobilize the trillions projected as required to meet the sustainable development goals. The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), which issues vaccine bonds, is an emblematic example of innovative finance in global health and development. Since its launch in 2006, IFFIm has played a leading role in developing social bonds and funding global health, securing over $8 billion in donor commitments, and disbursing over $3 billion to date to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Adopting a follow the money approach, we set out a significant, evidence-based challenge to some of the dominant development claims around innovative development finance more widely and IFFIm in particular. We find evidence of nontrivial private profit making, hiding in plain sight, at the expense of beneficiaries and donors. Through advanced critical financial analysis, we reveal precisely who benefits and by how much. Furthermore, our analysis shows in detail how financialization reduces political control over aid, and the uneven spatial distribution of material rewards and political power. While IFFIm delivers on its claim to front-load aid commitments and makes a significant contribution to global health, the article asks whether the economic and political costs of innovative financing mechanisms are worth it. We finish by showing that alternative models for vaccine finance are possible. A postscript provides a brief account of how IFFIm has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
期刊介绍:
Economic Geography is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing original research that advances the field of economic geography. Their goal is to publish high-quality studies that are both theoretically robust and grounded in empirical evidence, contributing to our understanding of the geographic factors and consequences of economic processes. It welcome submissions on a wide range of topics that provide primary evidence for significant theoretical interventions, offering key insights into important economic, social, development, and environmental issues. To ensure the highest quality publications, all submissions undergo a rigorous peer-review process with at least three external referees and an editor. Economic Geography has been owned by Clark University since 1925 and plays a central role in supporting the global activities of the field, providing publications and other forms of scholarly support. The journal is published five times a year in January, March, June, August, and November.