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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Briefing: the G8's multilateral debt relief initiative and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa |
Author: | Moss, Todd |
Year: | 2006 |
Periodical: | African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society |
Volume: | 105 |
Issue: | 419 |
Period: | April |
Pages: | 285-293 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Subsaharan Africa |
Subjects: | debt relief poverty reduction |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3876790 |
Abstract: | The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), agreed by the G8 in June 2005, will erase 'as much as 100 percent' of the debts owed by qualifying countries, the vast majority of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. Although this is being presented as a momentous leap forward for Africa and the battle against global poverty, the actual gains may be more modest and elusive. This article argues that hopes for a major impact on poverty, or even on the cash flow of African treasuries, are unlikely to be realized. The article discusses the origins of Africa's debt burden and past debt relief before outlining the MDRI and what should be expected from it in the areas of social services and poverty, economic growth, policy reform, and institutional development. It concludes that the potential benefits of the MDRI are far from certain, likely to be long term, and difficult to measure. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |