Through this research program on public development banks (PDBs), AFD helps build knowledge on the role, intervention models, and effectiveness of these key players in development financing. By supporting scientific production and coordinating an international community of researchers, the program aims to inform public policy and strengthen PDBs’ capacity to mobilize long-term financing in support of transitions.
Context
For decades, economists have debated the role and necessity of public banks in development financing. In 2020, the creation of the Finance in Common System (FiCS), which brings together more than 540 PDBs worldwide, has reinvigorated these debates, placing these actors at the heart of academic thinking and international policy dialogue.
For AFD Group, PDBs are strategic partners. Strengthening financial systems is one of the Group’s top priorities: expanding access to financing, supporting the transition toward more sustainable financial models, and strengthening the resilience and stability of financial institutions.
In 2024, AFD Group committed close to €3 billion to financial systems and PDBs account for nearly half of the financing devoted to this area. Beyond the volumes mobilized, the challenge is to strengthen the collective ability to better understand how development financing can respond to increasingly complex and interconnected challenges.
Objectives
AFD supports the production and dissemination of research aimed at analyzing the role of public development banks in the development financing architecture.
This activity, which falls under the priority research area “Geopolitics and Development Finance,” is structured around two complementary pillars:
Pillar 1 – Producing original research on development financing
Whether conducted internally or in partnership with universities and research institutions, AFD supports the production of original work that contributes to the literature on development financing. This research work focuses in particular on:
- the definition, mandates, and typologies of PDBs;
- their business models and their effectiveness in terms of development impact;
- the analysis and development of innovative financial instruments;
- synergies among PDBs, and their integration into local and international financial systems;
- the conditions for strengthening joint financing mobilization, including through the mobilization of private investment;
- governance issues, regulatory frameworks, and the constraints PDBs face.
AFD coordinates the Global Research Network on Public Development Banks (GRN), an international network bringing together academic and institutional researchers specializing in these issues. A genuine platform for exchange and dialogue, the GRN fosters interdisciplinary approaches and North-South and South-South collaboration, and disseminates research findings. By bringing researchers and practitioners together, it helps inform public policy and strengthen the effectiveness of public development banks in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Results
Since 2020, members of the Global Research Network (GRN) have collectively published nearly 100 original research articles. To structure and consolidate this work, AFD supported the production of the Public Development Banks Reference Book (2025), with support from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Finance in Common (FiCS) secretariat. Published by Pearson on the occasion of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), this book is a landmark contribution to the academic literature on public development banks.
The program also enabled the development of the first database dedicated internationally to public development banks, co-designed by Peking University, the Fondation pour les Études et Recherches sur le Développement International (FERDI), and AFD. This resource is now a reference tool for researchers, financial institutions, and policymakers. By offering a harmonized typology of public financial institutions and internationally comparable data, it facilitates comparative analysis, strengthens transparency, and helps better track the evolution of public development banks and development finance institutions.
Findings from the program are regularly presented at international conferences and dialogues, particularly at Finance in Common (FiCS) summits. As part of France’s G7 presidency, AFD organized the first conference international academic dedicated exclusively to public development banks in 2026.
Discover also: Public Development Banks: What Research Tells Us, and Why It Matters
Research findings
The 2026 research conference provided an overview of current knowledge and research perspectives on public development banks. Drawing on the most recent academic work, a publication prepared following the conference provides a synthesis of the main lessons from the literature and highlights the current challenges these institutions face.
It sets out recommendations for key stakeholders, in particular finance ministers (in their capacity as shareholders and supervisors of PDBs), PDB leaders, and regulatory authorities. These recommendations aim to strengthen the role of public development banks as catalysts for long-term investment in support of national priorities and the delivery of global public goods.
Resources at a Glance
Contact
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Jean-Baptiste JACOUTON
Research Officer on Sustainable Finance
