Papers

Peer-reviewed Journal Article:

1. “Calculated Capital: The Business Logic Behind Chinese Lending in the Global South.” Review of International Political Economy, July 9, 2026. With David Landry.
   • Working Paper version: Working Paper No. 2024/3. Global China Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Boston, MA.
   • Op-ed in The Wilson Center China Environmental Forum. March 27, 2025.
2. “Chinese Ties and Low Carbon Industrialization in Africa.” Energy Economics, Volume 144, April 2025, 108352. With Solomon Owusu and Gideon Ndubuisi.
   • Working Paper No.37. Global China Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Boston, MA. 2024
   • Podcast in China Global South Project, September 13, 2024.
   • Blog Post: “Chinese Investment in Africa: A Double-Edged Sword for Low-carbon Industrialization”. July 28, 2024.
3. “The Political Economy of Special Economic Zones: The Cases of Ethiopia and Vietnam.” Review of International Political Economy, 30(5), 1957–1983. 2022.
   • Op-ed in The China-Global South Project. February 28, 2023.
   • Blog Post: “The Global Diffusion of Special Economic Zones: Evidence from Ethiopia and Vietnam”. February 6, 2023.
4. “Do China-Financed Dams in Sub-Saharan Africa Improve the Region’s Social Welfare? A Case Study of the Impacts of Ghana’s Bui Dam.” With Yingjiao Shen. Energy Policy. Volume 136, January 2020, 111062.

Work in Progress:

1. “Contingent Civic Space: Stakeholder Power, Authoritarianism, and Environmental-Social Outcomes in Chinese Special Economic Zones in Africa” With Christoph Nedopil and Cecilia Springer. 2024. (Under Review)

2. “Green Belt and Road and China’s Overseas Clean-Energy Expansion: Power, Progress, or Profit?” With Sarah Sklar and Min Ye. (Under Review)

3. “Delegated Origination: Corporate Influence in Chinese Lending.” With Hong Zhang. (Presented at NYU Political Economy of Sovereign Debt Workshop 2025, Oxford University China Africa (OUCAN) Annual Conference 2025, Princeton Sovereign Debt Conference 2026, EUI, HKU Infrastructure Conference 2026, PEADA 2026)

4. “The Electoral Effects of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Sub-National Data.” With Axel Dreher, Jingke Pan, and Christina Schneider.(Presented at GODAD Workshop 2025, IPES 2025, EPSS 2026)

5. “IMF Programs and the Distributional Politics of Human Rights Repression.” With Rodwan Abouharb and Bernhard Reinsberg. (Draft completed, presented at the EPSA 2025 and PEIO 2026)

6. “Who Gets the Jobs? Political Favoritism in Subnational FDI across Africa.” With Solomon Owusu and Gideon Ndubuisi. (Data analysis in progress)

7. “Financing for Votes: Electoral Incentives and Creditor Choice in Public Investment.” With Alicia Chen. (Presented at HKU Infrastructure Conference 2026)

Permanent Working Paper:

1. “Lessons from East Asia: Comparing Ethiopia and Vietnam’s Early-Stage Special Economic Zone Development.” Working Paper No. 2019/5. China Africa Research Initiative, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC.

2. “Development Finance and Distributive Politics: Comparing Chinese and World Bank Finance in sub-Saharan Africa.” Working Paper No. 2021/45. China Africa Research Initiative, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC.

Policy Report:

1. Cecilia Springer, Keyi Tang, Christoph Nedopil, Chris Alden, and Cobus Van Staden. “Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa.” German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) Report. 2023.
   • Quoted by South China Morning Post, September 5, 2023.
   • Blog Post: “What’s the Risk? ESG Lessons from Chinese Projects in Africa”. August 30, 2023.

Additional Blog Post:

1. “Evaluating the Impact of China-Financed Power Projects on Electricity Access.” The China-Africa Research Initiative Blog. June 10, 2021.