Multilateral Development Banks as Conduits for South–South Cooperation

Abstract

This article seeks to add to the literature on multilateral development banks by considering them as conduits for South–South Cooperation. We identify ways that regional and borrower-dominant regional development banks have long provided a venue for interaction and assistance among developing states. Moreover, we hypothesize that organizations that give greater voting shares to their borrowing country members are better equipped and more likely to support regional public goods and to encourage greater South–South Cooperation in development financing. We explore the extent of this cooperation through a dataset of over 34,000 projects implemented by twelve multilateral development banks from 1968 to 2006.