IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v36y2008i3p485-504.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

External Debt in Post-Conflict Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Alvarez-Plata, Patricia
  • Brück, Tilman

Abstract

Summary In the development literature, there exists no systematic study of external borrowing in post-conflict countries. We address this gap by analyzing statistical and case study evidence from three African countries. We find that many war-affected countries face rising debt arrears and deteriorating relations with creditors. Rebuilding trust between lenders and borrowers is hence a crucial but often slow process. Furthermore, donors to war-affected African countries have been slow to grant exceptional debt relief based on odious debt or on financial requirements. Debt relief for post-conflict reconstruction should embrace a more forward looking and more generous conditionality.

Suggested Citation

  • Alvarez-Plata, Patricia & Brück, Tilman, 2008. "External Debt in Post-Conflict Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 485-504, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:36:y:2008:i:3:p:485-504
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(07)00207-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Collier, Paul & Gunning, Jan Willem, 1995. "War, peace and private portfolios," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 233-241, February.
    2. Ms. Annalisa Fedelino & Alina Kudina, 2003. "Fiscal Sustainability in African HIPC Countries: A Policy Dilemma?," IMF Working Papers 2003/187, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Tony Addison & S. Mansoob Murshed, 2003. "Debt Relief and Civil War," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 40(2), pages 159-176, March.
    4. Nancy Birdsall & Stijn Claessens & Ishac Diwan, 2003. "Policy Selectivity Forgone: Debt and Donor Behavior in Africa," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 17(3), pages 409-435, December.
    5. Serkan Arslanalp & Peter Blair Henry, 2006. "Policy Watch: Debt Relief," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 207-220, Winter.
    6. Catherine Pattillo & Hélène Poirson & Luca Antonio Ricci, 2011. "External Debt and Growth," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 2(3).
    7. Sanford, Jonathan E., 2004. "IDA Grants and HIPC Debt Cancellation: Their Effectiveness and Impact on IDA Resources," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1579-1607, September.
    8. Seema Jayachandran & Michael Kremer, 2006. "Odious Debt," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 82-92, March.
    9. Leonce Ndikumana & James Boyce, 1998. "Congo's Odious Debt: External Borrowing and Capital Flight in Zaire," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 29(2), pages 195-217, April.
    10. Justine Nannyonjo, 2005. "Conflicts, Poverty and Human Development in Northern Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-47, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Nicolas Depetris Chauvin & Aart Kraay, 2007. "Who Gets Debt Relief?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(2-3), pages 333-342, 04-05.
    12. Cohen, Daniel, 1997. "Growth and external debt: a new perspective on the african and latin american tragedies," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 9715, CEPREMAP.
    13. repec:wbk:wbpubs:12425 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Kapoor, Kapil, 1995. "Restructuring Uganda's debt : the commercial debt buy - back operation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1409, The World Bank.
    15. Peter Hjertholm, 2003. "Theoretical and empirical foundations of HIPC debt sustainability targets," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(6), pages 67-100.
    16. Henry, Peter B. & Arslanalp, Serkan, 2003. "Helping the Poor to Help Themselves: Debt Relief or Aid?," Research Papers 1838, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    17. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2006. "Governance matters V: aggregate and individual governance indicators for 1996 - 2005," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4012, The World Bank.
    18. Ndikumana, Leonce, 2004. "Additionality of debt relief and debt forgiveness, and implications for future volumes of official assistance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 325-340.
    19. Menzies, Gordon Douglas, 2006. "Debt and Aid, War and Peace: Policy Tradeoffs in Conflict-affected Countries," Review of Applied Economics, Lincoln University, Department of Financial and Business Systems, vol. 2(2), pages 1-11.
    20. Easterly, William, 2002. "How Did Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Become Heavily Indebted? Reviewing Two Decades of Debt Relief," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1677-1696, October.
    21. Neumayer, Eric, 2002. "Is Good Governance Rewarded? A Cross-national Analysis of Debt Forgiveness," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 913-930, June.
    22. World Bank, 2005. "World Development Indicators 2005," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12426, December.
    23. Claessens, Stijn & Detragiache, Enrica & Kanbur, Ravi & Wickham, Peter, 1996. "Analytical aspects of the debt problems of heavily indebted poor countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1618, The World Bank.
    24. Ms. Yan M Sun, 2004. "External Debt Sustainability in HIPC Completion Point Countries," IMF Working Papers 2004/160, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Samir Abdelhafidh, 2020. "Does the external debt composition matter for economic growth in Tunisia?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 2802-2818.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marin Ferry & Marc Raffinot, 2019. "Curse or Blessing? Has the Impact of Debt Relief Lived up to Expectations? A Review of the Effects of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives for Low-Income Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(9), pages 1867-1891, September.
    2. Ugo Panizza, 2008. "The External Debt Contentious Six Years after the Monterrey Consensus," G-24 Discussion Papers 51, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    3. Knoll, Martin, 2013. "The heavily indebted poor countries and the multilateral debt relief initiative: A test case for the validity of the debt overhang hypothesis," Discussion Papers 2013/11, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    4. Freytag, Andreas & Pehnelt, Gernot, 2009. "Debt Relief and Governance Quality in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 62-80, January.
    5. Johansson, Pernilla, 2010. "Debt Relief, Investment and Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 1204-1216, September.
    6. Marco Arnone & Luca Bandiera & Andrea Presbitero, 2005. "External Debt Sustainability: Theory and Empirical Evidence," International Finance 0512007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Presbitero, Andrea F., 2008. "Debt Relief Effectiveness and Institution Building," MPRA Paper 12597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Cassimon, Denis & Moreno-Dodson, Blanca & Wodon, Quentin, 2008. "Debt Sustainability for Low-Income Countries: A Review of Standard and Alternative Concepts," MPRA Paper 11077, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. HEPP, Ralf, 2010. "CONSEQUENCES OF DEBT RELIEF INITIATIVES IN THE 1990s," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 10(1).
    10. Andreas FREYTAG & Julian SCHMIED, 2019. "Debt Relief And Good Governance: New Evidence Of Developing Countries For The Period 1990-2013," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 19(1), pages 15-32.
    11. Maria Cipollina, 2007. "The developing countries’ foreign debt in the last twenty years," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 3, July.
    12. Ralf Hepp, 2005. "Health Expenditures Under the HIPC Debt Initiative," International Finance 0510005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Alessandro Missale & Silvia Marchesi, 2004. "What does motivate lending and aid to the HIPCs?," International Finance 0411006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Presbitero, Andrea F., 2008. "The Debt-Growth Nexus in Poor Countries: A Reassessment," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 2, pages 1-28.
    15. Nicolas Depetris Chauvin & Aart Kraay, 2007. "Who Gets Debt Relief?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(2-3), pages 333-342, 04-05.
    16. Freytag , Andreas & Pettersson, Jonatan & Schmied, Julian, 2016. "Debt Relief and Good Governance: New Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145914, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Mariam Camarero & Jesús Peiró-Palomino & Cecilio Tamarit, 2017. "External imbalances and growth," Working Papers 2017/02, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    18. Silvia Marchesi & Alessandro Missale, 2007. "How defensive were lending and aid to HIPC?," Working Papers 115, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised 2007.
    19. Camarero, Mariam & Peiró-Palomino, Jesús & Tamarit, Cecilio, 2019. "Growth in a time of external imbalances," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 262-275.
    20. Cordella, Tito & Missale, Alessandro, 2013. "To give or to forgive? Aid versus debt relief," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 504-528.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:36:y:2008:i:3:p:485-504. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.