Report

National Development Banks and Infrastructure Provision: A Comparative Study of Brazil, China, and South Africa

At a Glance

Publication Date June 2015
Format pdf
Thematic Area Cross Cutting

The main focus of this paper is on the assessment of the challenges and trade-offs faced by the three major national development banks (NDBs) in emerging economies in their efforts to (1) reach the goals set by their governments, (2) obtain the resources needed to function at a meaningful scale, and (3) operate within their unique economic and political contexts.
Followed by the first introductory section, the second section provides the overview of three NDBs. And the next section is primarily focused on the viability of the three NDBs to supply a significant share of financing for infrastructure investments in developing and emerging economies, supporting economic growth and improved living standards. The comparison of the CDB, DBSA, and BNDES indicates that NDBs have a significant role to play in this task and gain numerous important advantages. However, it is also clear that their role is inherently limited in nature. The final section of this paper draws some tentative conclusions and lessons regarding the role of NDBs in providing infrastructure finance.

This paper is part of the working paper series “Infrastructure Finance in the Developing World” and is a joint research effort by GGGI and the G-24, exploring the challenges and opportunities for scaling up infrastructure finance in emerging markets and developing countries.