The First Tranche

Building the evidence base: AidData’s deep-dive analysis of Zambian school-related gender-based violence Using an exogenous proxy to study the complex relationship between access to schools and gender-based violence. Together for Girls

AidData’s new dataset of 13,427 Chinese development projects worth $843 billion reveals major increase in ‘hidden debt’ and Belt and Road Initiative implementation problems The analysis, based on a massive new dataset four years in the making, includes a special focus on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Alex Wooley

TUFF Cookies: Students aim for policy impact through hard-hitting research, part one From loans repaid with the proceeds from cocoa bean sales to payments encouraging North Korea to participate in nuclear negotiations, AidData’s Tracking Underreported Financial Flows (TUFF) team tracks it all. Kyra Solomon, Brad Parks, Sarina Patterson

TUFF Cookies: Students aim for policy impact through hard-hitting research, part two From loans repaid with the proceeds from cocoa bean sales to payments encouraging North Korea to participate in nuclear negotiations, AidData’s Tracking Underreported Financial Flows (TUFF) team tracks it all. Kyra Solomon, Brad Parks, Sarina Patterson

Statistics development in Somalia: Challenges and opportunities in a complex environment As Somalia endeavors to recover, reconstruct, and redevelop after decades of conflict and civil war, it faces an unprecedented need for better data and statistics. Sharmarke Farah

Dashboard additions allow for deep dive into China’s influence toolkit in South and Central Asia Newly available subnational data allows users to explore Beijing’s financial diplomacy at the province and district level, while detailed country profiles provide a bird’s-eye view. Sarina Patterson, Austin Baehr

Addressing the global crisis of gender-based violence in schools with better data A new effort to understand school-related gender-based violence may help policy makers and communities craft legislation and strategies to respond and keep students safe and in school. Sasan Faraj, Sarina Patterson

Corridors of power: Understanding China’s toolkit to influence the Silk Road We break down China’s influence toolkit in South and Central Asia, as profiled in AidData’s interactive dashboard and a report newly available in Russian. Samantha Custer, Sarina Patterson, Austin Baehr

Climate change, the environment, and oceans rank near the bottom of leaders’ priorities, according to global survey As global carbon emissions bounce back post-pandemic, a new AidData report finds climate action and environmental goals are among the least important issues for leaders. Alex Wooley

China rises sharply in influence among developing-country leaders, but does not yet surpass the US and G7 countries, according to new report A survey of nearly 7,000 leaders by AidData finds an increasingly contested development cooperation field. Alex Wooley

Amidst calls to decolonize aid, what issues do developing-country leaders prioritize and what do they say they want from partners? New report finds policy makers in the world’s poorer countries prioritize education, jobs, and strong institutions, and give high marks to donors that embrace locally-led development. Alex Wooley

New report on a global survey of leaders scores donors’ performance in an era of contested cooperation Multilaterals such as the IMF and World Bank perform highly; China rises in influence, but the US and other G7 donors hold their own. Alex Wooley