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The Indo-Pacific Development Centre

The Indo-Pacific Development Centre (IPDC) is a policy research centre at the Lowy Institute dedicated to generating fresh policy insights and ideas on the most pressing economic development issues in the Indo-Pacific region. The IPDC focuses on key challenges facing emerging and developing economies in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and South Asia as well as the role of more advanced Indo-Pacific economies such as Australia, the United States, Japan, China, and others in helping shape the future economic development of the region.

The work of the IPDC is organised around six key themes:

  • Post-Covid recovery, growth and development
  • Climate finance and decarbonising development
  • Technology and the digital economy
  • Globalisation and regional integration
  • The future of international development finance
  • Geoeconomics and the intersection of development and security

As part of its development finance pillar, the IPDC houses the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Aid Map, a digital interactive that tracks all official development finance flows to the Pacific region.

The IPDC has been established with the support of multi-year funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Featured projects

Southeast Asia Aid Map
Southeast Asia Aid Map
New interactive tracking more than 100,000 development projects, the most comprehensive assessment of development flows in Southeast Asia ever undertaken.
Pacific Aid Map 2022
Pacific Aid Map 2022
Updated research shows the unprecedented disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Pacific Islands region caused upheaval in how international donors provide aid.
Experts
Latest publications
News and media
Climate justice: friendshoring, China’s supremacy and America’s IR Act
Climate justice: friendshoring, China’s supremacy and America’s IR Act
When the Inflation Reduction Act (IR Act) passed the US Congress in August 2022, it was acclaimed as the largest, most ambitious climate change investment in American history. The…
Revitalising the Green Climate Fund
Policy Briefs
Revitalising the Green Climate Fund
The world’s largest climate-dedicated multilateral fund must increase its focus on serving the most climate vulnerable countries, including in the Pacific Islands region.
Cash is king, no more
Cash is king, no more
Australia has emerged as the frontrunner in embracing digital payments. A recent global report highlights that Australians now rank among the world’s least frequent cash users. It…
Loss and damage: Thoughts on global climate fund reform
Loss and damage: Thoughts on global climate fund reform
A major issue that undoubtedly will be a point of contention at this year’s COP28 climate conference in Dubai in December, is the architecture of a fund meant to pay for loss and…
China’s slowdown is nothing to celebrate
China’s slowdown is nothing to celebrate
US President Joe Biden recently referred to China’s economy as a “ticking time-bomb”. While his administration might like to think the increase in US restrictions on trade and…
Embracing digitalisation
Embracing digitalisation
A recent study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) looking across 46 countries estimated that 83 million existing jobs will no longer exist within five years. The reason? Rapid…
The constrained ambition of Australia’s new development policy
The constrained ambition of Australia’s new development policy
The Australian government has released a new international development policy. Like all such policies, on its own it will not dramatically change the nature or performance of…
Sri Lanka’s deep debt bind
Sri Lanka’s deep debt bind
Sri Lanka today exists in a no man’s land between debt restructure and default. In late June, the government released its proposed domestic debt restructure deal, which in turn…
International shipping: a missed opportunity to reduce emissions
Commentary
International shipping: a missed opportunity to reduce emissions
Originally published in Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre.
Pursuing Indo-Pacific Growth and Development Amid Superpower Rivalry
Commentary
Pursuing Indo-Pacific Growth and Development Amid Superpower Rivalry
Economic Security and the Future of the Global Order in the Indo-Pacific - a thought piece written for Perry World House.