Africa’s Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled a Continent (African Arguments)

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In Africa’s Odious Debts, Boyce and Ndikumana reveal the shocking fact that, contrary to the popular perception of Africa being a drain on the financial resources of the West, the continent is actually a net creditor to the rest of the world. The extent of capital flight from sub-Saharan Africa is remarkable: more than $700 billion in the past four decades. But Africa’s foreign assets remain private and hidden, while its foreign debts are public, owed by the people of Africa through their governments.

Léonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce reveal the intimate links between foreign loans and capital flight. More than half of the money borrowed by African governments in recent decades departed in the same year, with a significant portion of it winding up in private accounts at the very banks that provided the loans in the first place. Meanwhile, debt-service payments continue to drain scarce resources from Africa, cutting into funds available for public health and other needs. Controversially, the authors argue that African governments should repudiate these “odious debts” from which their people derived no benefit, and that the international community should assist in this effort.

A vital book for anyone interested in Africa, its future, and its relationship with the West.

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Comments

G. Lieberknecht says:

Important Idea About Africa’s Debts I enjoyed reading this book a lot. It wasn’t the easiest book to read, some of the ideas are complicated and difficult to understand. But the basic premise is clear and important.It’s long been known that African countries have serious debt problems with money borrowed from Western banks. Likewise it’s well known that there’s a lot of corruption within many African governments. This book makes the connection between those two things. And in doing so, the authors present a…

Edward Waffle says:

A continuous cycle of corruption Otherwise intelligent commentators on the economics of development are at a loss when dealing with the problems of sub-Sahara Africa. William Easterly, professor of economics at NYU, Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute and constant thorn in the side of Jeffrey Sachs seems to miss the point when he writes that the power of democracy and free markets, implemented by “homegrown political, economic, and social reformers and entrepreneurs” (in other words a new and as yet…

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