The Belt and Road initiative, recently embarked on by China, aims to improve cross-border infrastructure in order to reduce transportation costs across a massive geographical area between China and Europe. The authors estimate how much trade might be created among Belt and Road countries as a...

In this paper, we examine whether hard infrastructure in the form of more highways and railroads or soft infrastructure in the form of more transparent institutions and deeper reforms lead to more foreign direct investment (FDI). We use data of FDI from the United States, Japan, Hong Kong,...

Drawing on a global database of media articles, we quantitatively assess perceptions of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in different countries and regions. We find that the BRI is generally positively received. All regions as a whole, except South Asia, have a positive perception of the...

In this paper we critically review the relevant information and literature that can enhance the feasibility and the successful implementation of cross-border infrastructure projects. We provide detailed information concerning foreign direct investment in the major emerging regions: East Asia and...

Since China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was announced almost a decade ago, circumstances in global politics have changed radically. The trade war between the United States and China, and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic have caused a partial reshuffling of the international economic...

Drawing on global media reports, we conduct a sentiment analysis of the image of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the evolution of its image over time. Our main finding is that perceptions of the initiative deteriorated significantly in many geographies from 2017 to 2022. The notable...

As defined by the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, infrastructure is any set of items or services deemed necessary for the creation and operation of any organization. From our point of view, we consider economic infrastructure to be those that are intended to contribute to the production and...

This paper makes a mid-term assessment for China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from the perspective of trade, investment and finance, respectively. We will discuss the economic progress of the Belt and Road Initiative from the trade, investment and financial perspectives, respectively. Trade...