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Debt Relief and Governance Quality in Developing Countries

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  • Freytag, Andreas
  • Pehnelt, Gernot
Abstract
Summary In this paper we empirically discuss whether or not debt relief has been economically rational in the past 15 years. From analyzing the determinants of debt relief, our results suggest that governance quality did not play a role in the decision of creditor countries to forgive debt in the 1990s. Furthermore, even the actual debt burden of highly indebted poor countries was not crucial in deciding whether or not debt forgiveness was granted. Rather, debt relief followed a strong path dependence: those countries whose debt had been forgiven in the first half of the 1990s were also granted debt forgiveness in the second half of the decade. However, this allocation pattern changed at the beginning of the 21st century, when path dependence diminished and some dimensions of governance quality were taken into account by donor countries.

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  • Freytag, Andreas & Pehnelt, Gernot, 2009. "Debt Relief and Governance Quality in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 62-80, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:1:p:62-80
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    Cited by:

    1. Leanora Alecia Brown & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2015. "International Debt Forgiveness: Who Gets Picked and Its Effect On The Tax Effort Of Developing Countries," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1504, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    2. Yooneui Kim & Youngwan Kim, 2021. "The autonomy of international organizations? The analysis of major powers’ influence over the World Bank’s aid policies," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 24(3), pages 224-240, September.
    3. Kelbesa Abdisa Megersa, 2015. "The laffer curve and the debt-growth link in low-income Sub-Saharan African economies," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(5), pages 878-892, October.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Danny Cassimon & Dennis Essers & Karel Verbeke, 2015. "What to do after the clean slate? Post-relief public debt sustainability and management," BeFinD Working Papers 0103, University of Namur, Department of Economics.
    7. Bjørnskov, Christian & Schröder, Philipp J.H., 2013. "Are debt repayment incentives undermined by foreign aid?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 1073-1091.
    8. Presbitero, Andrea F., 2008. "Debt Relief Effectiveness and Institution Building," MPRA Paper 12597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Bai, Ye & Banerji, Sanjay & Wang, Zilong & Zhang, Wenjing, 2024. "Can participation in IMF programs facilitate sovereign debt rescheduling? The role of program size," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    10. Marin Ferry & Marc Raffinot, 2016. "Réductions de dette, aléa moral et ré-endettement des pays à faible revenu," Post-Print hal-04258196, HAL.
    11. Mohsin Nawaz & Maria Qureshi & Naveed Wahid Awan, 2012. "Does External Debt Causes Economic Growth: A Case Study of Pakistan," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 15(43), pages 131-144, March.
    12. Nagae, Akira & Katayama, Hajime & Takase, Koichi, 2022. "Donor aid allocation and accounting standards of recipients," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    13. 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.
    14. Boehe, Dirk Michael & Barin Cruz, Luciano, 2013. "Gender and Microfinance Performance: Why Does the Institutional Context Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 121-135.
    15. Maekawa, Wakako, 2024. "United Nations peacekeeping operations and multilateral foreign aid: Credibility of good governance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    16. Matt Andrews, 2015. "Has Sweden Injected Realism into Public Financial Management Reforms in Partner Countries?," CID Working Papers 303, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    17. repec:nam:befdwp:3 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Winters, Matthew S. & Martinez, Gina, 2015. "The Role of Governance in Determining Foreign Aid Flow Composition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 516-531.
    19. Brahms, Lisa, 2013. "Legitimacy in global governance of sovereign default: The role of international investment agreements," PIPE - Papers on International Political Economy 16/2013, Free University Berlin, Center for International Political Economy.
    20. Johansson, Pernilla, 2010. "Debt Relief, Investment and Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 1204-1216, September.
    21. Ward, Hugh & Dorussen, Han, 2015. "Public Information and Performance: The Role of Spatial Dependence in the Worldwide Governance Indicators among African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 253-263.
    22. Yan Wang, 2022. "Does Governance Quality Matter for the Selection of Policy Stringency to Fight COVID-19?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-14, May.
    23. Andrews, Matt, 2015. "Has Sweden Injected Realism into Public Financial Management Reforms in Partner Countries?," Working Paper Series 15-063, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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