african debt

[Tassidar]

Tassidar : I was pretty sure it was middle 20's for ZA. Very supprised by Zim's figure. The CIA world factbook, whilst a great resource, often has outdated data posing as new data

Debt as a percentage of GDP currently stands at 30,8%, making South Africa the envy of many economies. The cost to the state of servicing the debt, is currently at 14%, down from 24% in 1998 and set to reach 10% by 2009.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=264462&area=/insight/insight__economy__business/
Dated 18 Feb 06

I must say, my impressions were that it was lower. I acknowledge the CIA world fact book is out of date, but I know of no other comprehensive sources. If anyone can provide a more up-to-date source, I would be very grateful.

 

[Tassidar]

Africa's debt is not Africa's fault. The blame lies SQUARELY on the shoulders of the so-called west. Even *IF* there was no corruption of any kind on the continent, Africa would still be facing debts it could not honour.

Xarog, some interesting literature along these lines:
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (will check author)
Against Global Apartheid - Patrick Bond

I will add others, when I can remember them.

 

[JStrike]

Tassidar : The USA's debt ratio is mindblowing. Couple that with their citizens uncontrollable spending, there is going to be a huge disaster within the next 50 years. It gives them a nice multiplier effect, but the long terms consequences are terrifying

 

[JStrike]

Tassidar : The MG's sources are normally pretty good. I thought it was lower as well. Odd

Speaking of good reading, their was a very good book I read back at university that dealt with the political and economic consequences of colonialism. Pretty scary. Will try remember author

 

[Angelo]

Xarog, some interesting literature along these lines:
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (will check author)
Against Global Apartheid - Patrick Bond

I will add others, when I can remember them.

Absolutely, the author was once interviewed on BBC news and he spared no holy cows, his name is John Perkins, his book could be very educational to Janvaniriebeek and others in the forum who enjoy "Africa bashing".

 

[Tassidar]

Some replies

Angelo: Thanks, I have updated the list.

In addition, I would suggest:

• Hartmann - Unequal Protection
• Blum - Rouge State

Jstrike: I have been following the US with interest. Generally most economists would say that a high budget deficit, combined with a high trade deficit is unsustainable.

People have been predicting the fall of the American economy for months now, but there as been little real sign of any weakening.

For those of you who are not familiar with the whole debate, I will try to summarise it briefly:

The US debt (both public - the state; and private - households) has been increasing in recent years at an alarming rate. Many fear that most of the US growth is driven out of increased debt.

At the same time the current account deficit (the difference between imports and exports) has also been at record levels.

This means that the US has been buying goods from abroad and paying with borrowed money from the rest of the world. This is clearly unsustainable.

However, it is not in the interests of the US's trading partners to see any weakness. So China and Japan have been buying the US debt (and accumulating mass dollar reserves) in order to prop the US up.

Theoretically, at some point in the future, there should be a correction, and a mass sell off of dollars. This could have the effect of massively disrupting the global economy (at which point the US stands to lose its status of reserve currency).

Thats a much simplified version of the argument, but I think it gets the main points across.