How to attract professional investors in developing countries? An evidence-based structure for development impact bonds

Descrizione Progetto

Abstract. 

This paper deals with the rationale issue of financing developing countries by deepening the characteristics of Development Impact Bonds (DIBs). The World Economic Forum, in 2018, introduced them as “pioneering and promising financial instruments”. However, to date, their spread is modest because of their structural, contractual and financial features, which make them unattractive to professional investors. Therefore, the paper proposes a new DIB structure, which is more appealing and easy-to-understand for practitioners and is able to mitigate potential agency problems.

Keywords:Development Impact Bonds; Outcome-based contracts; Foreign aid; Agency problems; Public-private partnership; Professional investors.