Africa’s Debt: Who Owes Whom?

Authors

James K. Boyce, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Léonce Ndikumana, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Working Paper Number

48

Publication Date

2002

Comments

Working Paper 48

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa includes 34 of the 42 countries classified as “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries” by the World Bank. The debt burden forces these countries to divert scarce resources from basic necessities, such as health and education, into debt service. Despite bearing these heavy social costs, African countries cannot keep up with the payments, and so they become ever more indebted.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/1274553