Public Development Financial Institutions (PDFIs) are public financial institutions initiated by governments to proactively achieve public policy objectives. They are potentially useful policy instruments for fixing market failures, incubating markets, and promoting economic structural transformation in an equitable and sustainable manner. Nowadays PDFIs are experiencing a renaissance worldwide. Scholars and policymakers are increasingly recognizing the importance of PDFIs in bridging infrastructure financing gaps, remedying defects in capital markets, playing a counter-cyclical role, and advancing structural transformation. In recent years, both developed and developing countries have established or are planning to establish new PDFIs to address economic, social, and environmental development challenges. However, in stark contrast to this renaissance, academic research on their role, operations, and effectiveness remains scarce and patchy.

To advance the theory and practice of public development finance, the Institute of New Structural Economics initiated to establish the “Public Development Finance Research Program”, which then co-built with the School of Health Humanities at Peking University. This program aims to integrate the academic resources of both institutions to provide theoretical support and policy recommendations for the practice of public development finance. Associate Professor (with tenure) Jiajun Xu serves as the Principal Investigator of the program. She provides guidance for the program's research and is responsible for its design, planning, and implementation.

Grounded in the original analytical framework of New Structural Financial Economics, the program aims to contribute to original theoretical innovations and has achieved significant international influence in database construction, academic research, and policy dialogue.

Firstly, in terms of database construction, the Public Development Finance Research Program has proposed rigorous qualification criteria for PDFIs and systematically identified PDFIs from around the world, establishing the world's first global database of Public Development Banks and Development Financing Institutions. It has officially released a series of flagship database reports on public development finance, including “Mapping Development Finance Institutions Worldwide: Definitions, Rationales and Varieties”, “Mapping 500+ Development Banks -- Qualification Criteria, Stylized Facts, and Development Trends”, “Funding Sources of National Development Banks”, “Art in the Doing: Public Development Banks Serving Public Policies”, and “Exploring the Financial Profiles of Public Development Banks: An Umbrella Paper”. This database has received widespread international attention and has been deemed by international peers as a “benchmark” database for Public Development Financial Institutions. It reveals the fundamental landscape of PDFIs in the world today and laying the cornerstone for original academic and policy research. In recognition of the pioneering and foundational efforts in creating the world's first database of PDFIs, Professor Jiajun Xu was invited to become a member of the Executive Committee of the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS).

Secondly, in terms of academic research and policy dialogue, Professor Jiajun Xu, as the initiator and co-convener, launched and established the world's first international research initiative on Public Development Financial Institutions in 2020. This initiative attracted over 50 renowned scholars and practitioners from top universities and international multilateral development institutions. It facilitated the first international academic research conference of the FiCS, led to the publication of the first special issue on public development banks in a renowned international academic journal, and culminated in an edited volume. Supported by key stakeholders at the FiCS, this international research initiative is elevated into the Global Research Network on Public Development Banks, which serves as a knowledge pillar, helping to turn original academic research into policy impact. In 2024, Professor Xu was appointed as a member of the UN International Commission of Experts on Financing for Development, deeply engaging in global policy research and dialogue on development financing. She has co-authored the Commission report entitled “Financing a Sustainable Future: Proposals for a Renewed Global Development Finance Agenda”, which has provided the intellectual support for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development at the United Nations.