This thesis investigates the developmental efficacy of China's premier international development project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by examining its impact on long-term economic growth across several East and Southeast Asian partner nations. The study suggests that BRI-related investments fundamentally fail to generate sustainable long-run economic growth due to several fundamental misalignments. These development expenditures often overwhelmingly prioritize large-scale physical infrastructure over more proven human development approaches. Furthermore, the thesis theorizes that these investments can actively harm human development in the short term, as massive capital influxes interact with pre-existing domestic corruption, resulting in unsustainable debt for partner nations. It argues that many BRI funded infrastructure projects frequently prioritize China's geopolitical interests over the recipient's development needs, ultimately resulting in developmental outcomes that are highly conditional on a partner state's institutional quality. The thesis challenges the common output-based assessment of economic progress with an empirical focus on Human Development Index (HDI) rather than traditional GDP related measures. Findings suggest that exposure to BRI-linked financing variables has a neutral or in some empirical variations, a significant negative impact on human development, providing a relevant statistical link to the hypothesis. This work contributes to the broader development of development economics by highlighting how BRI's overall failure to deliver positive human development outcomes exemplifies the initiative's failure to deliver promised "mutual" growth outcomes to its partners.
Acknowledgements: I would like to give thanks to my advisor, Professor Eshragh Motahar of the Department of Economics for his invaluable feedback and belief in my capabilities. Without his guidance and support I would not have been able to see this project through to completion.