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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Debt Relief for Africa
Author:Watkins, Kevin
Year:1994
Periodical:Review of African Political Economy
Volume:21
Issue:62
Pages:599-609
Language:English
Geographic terms:Subsaharan Africa
Africa
Subjects:external debt
international relations
Economics and Trade
Politics and Government
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03056249408704090
Abstract:External debt remains a major obstacle to human development in sub-Saharan Africa. A new impetus for debt relief could play a vital role in helping Africa out of the vicious circle of social and economic decline in which it is trapped. Two fundamental principles should underpin an international debt-reduction strategy. First, ability to pay should take precedence over the claims of external creditors. Second, debt reduction going substantially beyond the levels envisaged by existing proposals is a fundamental requirement. This applies both to official debt owed to the Paris Club, and to multilateral debt owed to the World Bank, the IMF, and the African Development Bank. Moreover, given the failure of World Bank-IMF structural adjustment policies to create a platform for poverty reduction and sustained growth, it is time to review the linkage between debt reduction and adherence to these policies. There should be a more pluralistic approach to the adjustment process, with the IMF consigned to a more limited advisory role in debt-relief negotiations. Bibliogr., ref., sum.
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