Wall Street on a Mission I (Re)instating the Legitimacy of Finance for Development: An Analysis of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD)

Abstract: According to estimates advanced by the United Nations, the annual SDG funding gap amounts to $2.5 trillion. The covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated the underlying issues as the global recession led to an unprecedented rise in public debts and economic distress triggered by defaults, capital flights and fiscal austerity. In light of these challenges, the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD), worth $16 trillion, were mandated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2019 and are now regarded as key players to increase the mobilization of the private sector in enhancing long-term investments through sustainable finance. Drawing upon the debates surrounding the legitimacy public-private partnerships, this study aims to critically examine how legitimate the GISD Alliance is in advancing sustainable development. In this regard, the thesis focuses on filling the knowledge gap by discussing the involvement of financial firms in development. Using a qualitative content analysis and a neo-Gramscian standpoint, the research seeks to unveil the underlying rationale of the actions undertaken by the initiative. In doing so, I examine the tradeoffs of the initiative while untangling the legitimacy of the partnership for development. The findings suggest an ambiguity both in terms of input and output legitimacy. Hence, the thesis concludes that the initiative presents risks to re-engineer the legitimacy of financial systems through alternative means, underpinned by a deliberative wish to embrace the Wall Street Consensus Paradigm. Hence, the GISD deploys forces that jeopardy to replicate the constellation of social forces whilst undermining the complexity of developmental challenges and failing to effectively address the prevalent needs of the subjects of development.