Post 2015: Why the Development Finance Debate Needs to Make the Move from Quantity to Quality

Abstract

The implementation of a future global development agenda with a broader set of goals replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015 will require greater and more efficient financing. The failure to establish a sound financial foundation risks jeopardising the success of any new development agenda right from the start. Although an intergovernmental Expert Committee on Sustainable Development Financing has been established, more high-level political dialogue on the means to implement the post-2015 agenda is needed. If the international community does not succeed in advancing this discourse properly, there is a risk of having “too little finance, too late”.

In the current environment of fiscal constraints in donor countries, it is unlikely that additional financial resources can be mobilised solely through aid. Hence, other sources of financing and new financing mechanisms will have to be brought in to bridge the funding gap. Whether private or public, domestic or foreign, each financing source and funding mechanism has unique characteristics that have to be carefully adapted to local contexts. This briefing paper looks at specific examples – taxes, South-South cooperation, aid and innovative financing mechanisms – to explore ways to move beyond quantity, in order to focus on improving the quality of financing.

Keywords: Post-2015, SDGs, Development Finance