China Development Finance
Brooke Escobar
Interim Director, Chinese Development Finance Program
bescobar@aiddata.org
Summary
Brooke Escobar is the Interim Director of AidData's Chinese Development Finance Program, where she oversees the lab's efforts to apply the Tracking Underreported Financial Flows (TUFF) methodology to opaque development finance flows. She previously served as the Associate Director of the Chinese Development Finance Program from 2021-2024; the Senior Program and Technology Manager, focused on Chinese and Middle Eastern aid analysis, from 2012-2021; and as a Project Manager from 2009-2011. She holds an MA in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Political Science from Brigham Young University.
Education
M.A., Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
B.A., Political Science, Brigham Young University
Background
Brooke is the Interim Director of AidData's Chinese Development Finance Program. With her team, she focuses on using pioneering methods to track and analyze underreported financial flows from non-traditional donors to developing countries. In particular, she manages data collection, research, and analysis across AidData’s China Development Finance Program and the Middle East research team to better understand aid allocation trends and patterns from these donors.
Brooke has over twelve years of experience working with development finance data. Previously, as AidData's Senior Program and Technology Manager, she focused on Chinese and Middle Eastern aid analysis from 2012-2021. While a graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin, she worked with Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS), supporting the design and implementation of a CCAPS research project on democracy and governance aid efficacy. Before graduate school, Brooke served from 2009-2011 as a Project Manager for AidData’s operations and data products.
Expertise
Chinese Development Finance, Middle Eastern Aid, Foreign Aid Financial Flows, OECD-DAC