The Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI) at LSE IDEAS is a research initiative that investigates the roles played by international organizations, multilateral development banks and commercial financial institutions in apportioning resources for sustainable development. We inquire how these actors have been internalizing innovative norms into their practices based on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. This initiative brings together the expertise of academics, practitioners, policy makers, and business leaders with the aim of advancing the UN 2030 Agenda.
In collaboration with the LSE Global South Unit, SDI co-hosts its Working Paper Series. These publications are available through LSE Research Online, the institutional repository for the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). SDI welcomes research manuscripts of the standard of quality expected of submissions to academic journals or academic book chapters. Submission details can be found here.
The research team at SDI has produced high-quality research for some of the foremost academic journals in the field as well as policy briefs and workshops designed to equip stakeholders with the theories and the evidence needed to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some of our researchers’ relevant publications include the following:
- Úbeda, Fernando, Mendez, Alvaro, & Forcadell, Francisco. (2022). The sustainable practices of multinational banks as drivers of financial inclusion in developing countries. Finance Research Letters, 103278.
- Forcadell, Francisco Javier, Lorena, Antonio, & Aracil, Elisa. (2022). The firm under the spotlight: How stakeholder scrutiny shapes corporate social responsibility and its influence on performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. doi:10.1002/csr.2417.
- Turzi, Mariano, & Mendez, Álvaro. (2022). Latin America in/and the AIIB: A Constructivist Analysis. Vestnik RUDN. International Relations, 22(3), 478-494.
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Ubeda, Fernando, Mendez, Alvaro, & Forcadell, Francisco. (2022). The Sustainable Practices of Multinational Banks as Drivers of Financial Inclusion in Developing Countries. LSE GSU Working Paper Series, 8(1).
- Úbeda, Fernando, Forcadell, Francisco Javier, Aracil, Elisa, & Mendez, Alvaro. (2022). How sustainable banking fosters the SDG 10 in weak institutional environments. Journal of Business Research, 146, 277-287.
- Mendez, Alvaro, Forcadell, Francisco Javier, & Ubeda, Fernando. (2021). Sustainable Banking in the Global South: ESG Innovations in China. Digital Economy and Innovation Journal.
- Úbeda, Fernando, Forcadell, Francisco Javier, & Suárez, Nuria. (2021). Do formal and informal institutions shape the influence of sustainable banking on financial development?Finance Research Letters.
- García R, Enrique, & Mendez, Alvaro. (2021). Mañana Today: A Long View of Economic Value Creation in Latin America. Global Policy.
- Forcadell, Francisco Javier, Úbeda, Fernando. (2020). Individual entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the mediating role of international entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal.
- Mendez, Alvaro, & Houghton, David Patrick. (2020). Sustainable Banking: The Role of Multilateral Development Banks as Norm Entrepreneurs. Sustainability, 12(972).
- Mendez, Alvaro, & Turzi, Mariano. (2020). The Political Economy of China–Latin America Relations: The AIIB Membership. New York: Palgrave Pivot.
- Jing, Yijia, Mendez, Alvaro, & Zheng, Yu (Eds.). (2020). New Development Assistance: Emerging Economies and the New Landscape of Development Assistance. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Meet the Team
Alvaro Mendez is the co-director of the Global South Unit at LSE and a Senior Associate Fellow at LSE IDEAS. He is an Associate Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Fudan University and teaches International Relations at LSE, Sciences-Po Paris, and Peking University (PKU). He has published five books: Colombian Agency and the Making of US Foreign Policy: Intervention by Invitation; The China-Latin America Axis: Emerging Markets and their Role in an Increasingly Globalised World (with Gaston Fornes); New Development Assistance: Emerging Economies and the New Landscape of Development Assistance; La Conexión: China en la Política Exterior del Perú en el Siglo XXI; and The Political Economy of China–Latin America Relations: The AIIB Membership (with Mariano Turzi). Another book in the making is China and Latin America: Development, Agency, and Geopolitics (with Chris Alden), which is to be published in late 2022. He has published articles in such journals as Geopolitics, Global Policy, and Sustainability.
Francisco Javier Forcadell is a Professor of Management in the Department of Business Administration at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) since 1999. He was a professor at the University of La Rioja from 1997 to 1999. He has been a visiting professor at the Tecnologico de Monterrey. His current research focuses on sustainability, particularly sustainable banking, corporate strategy, innovation, and co-operation. He has supervised a number of doctoral theses and has been involved in 10 national projects sponsored by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation. He has occupied several positions as external consultant at the Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitivity. Professor Forcadell is the author of numerous articles published in leading academic journals such as Long Range Planning, Research Policy, Journal of Business Ethics and Journal of World Business. Two of the journals in which Professor Forcadell has published are included in the Financial Times’ Top 50 Journals used in FT Research Rank.