No abstract

The global political economy is in flux as a series of cumulative crises impacts its organization and governance. The IPE series has tracked its development in both analysis and structure over the last three decades. It has always had a concentration on the global South. Now the South increasingly challenges the North as the centre of development, also reflected in a growing number of submissions and publications on indebted Eurozone economies in Southern Europe. An indispensable resource for scholars and researchers, the series examines a variety of capitalisms and connections by focusing on emerging economies, companies and sectors, debates and policies. It informs diverse policy communities as the established trans-Atlantic North declines and 'the rest', especially the BRICS, rise.

Motivation Climate change is exposing significant urban vulnerabilities. The multilateral development banks (MDBs) have responded by devising a suite of sustainable, green, and resilient (SGR) city advisory services and lending products to prepare cities for future climate change impacts. Purpose The article comparatively analyses SGR city action plans and companion projects drafted by the MDBs. It thus evaluates the translation of analytical work into investments, reviewing what the MDBs are prioritizing and what this means for development and climate change. Methods and approach The article qualitatively analyses 124 SGR city action plans and 65 companion lending operations approved by four MDBs between 2014 and 2021, evaluating action plan documents and project appraisal, implementation, and results reports. Findings The article finds that while the SGR city action plans propose comprehensive recommendations, the companion projects narrowly focus on infrastructural upgrades that are uncertain to adequately prepare cities for future climate change impacts. Policy implications Multilateral interventions targeting climate change expanded considerably during the 2010s. The MDBs, however, continue to prioritize project‐based infrastructural investments financing climate mitigation and resilience actions over more substantive climate adaptation initiatives. This article thus shows that SGR city action plans hold great potential to enact robust and inclusive climate responses but have so far been stymied by the conservatism of project‐based investment lending.

International development agencies have need of sympathetic interlocutors in developing countries who are receptive to and capable of sustainably implementing global policy norms. This article analyses World Bank technical assistance (TA) as a tool used to stack the policy deck in its favour by identifying and cultivating those government officials receptive to its ideas. Pairing its analysis with the policy mobilities literature, the article considers two questions: how does the World Bank locate receptive actors and how does it socialize new actors into accepting its ideas and practices? Observing the World Bank's four main TA pillars, the article reviews the different strengths and weaknesses of these pillars in garnering domestic support. In critiquing the World Bank's attempts to identify and cultivate sympathetic interlocutors, the article provides new insights into the mechanisms that facilitate the transnational movement of policy.

No abstract