Developing countries' debt is external debt incurred by Third World countries, generally in quantities beyond that country's ability to repay.Unpayable debt is a term used to describe external debt where the interest on the debt exceeds the amount that the country produces, thus preventing the debt ever being repaid. from http://www. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... This article is about GDP in the context of economics. ...

Much of the current levels of debt were amassed following the 1973 oil crisis. Increases in oil prices forced many poorer nations to borrow heavily to purchase essential supplies. At the same time, OPEC funds deposited in western banks provided a ready source of funds for loans. While a proportion of borrowed funds went towards infrastrucutre and economic development, a proportion was lost to corruption and about one-fifth was spent on arms. The 1973 oil crisis began in earnest on October 17, 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, consisting of the Arab members of OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) announced, as a result of the ongoing Yom Kippur War, that they would no longer ship petroleum... Not to be confused with APEC. OPEC Logo The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an international cartel[1][2] made up of Iraq, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Angola, Algeria, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. ...

Historical background

Most present-day states in Africa and the majority of Asia did not have an independent financial existence as recently as World War II. However, not all external debts of these countries were acquired after independence. As a condition of independence in 1949, Indonesia was required to assume the Dutch colonial government's debt, much of which had been acquired fighting pro-independence rebels the previous four years. In order to receive independence from France, Haiti was required to pay France 150 million francs. A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... It has been suggested that Benign colonialism be merged into this article or section. ...

Egypt, which had not been formally colonized, but had been effectively governed as first an Anglo-French and later British protectorate, did not have control over the lucrative Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea (and therefore the Indian Ocean). Denied credit to build the Aswan Dam, Egypt's government moved to nationalize the canal, formally owned by a European corporation but built (at tremendous human cost) by Egyptian labor, in 1956, sparking the Suez Crisis. This article is about states protected and/or dominated by a foreign power. ... For other uses, see Suez (disambiguation). ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... Map showing reservoir The hydroelectric power station of Aswan Dam Aswan is a city on the first cataract of the Nile in Egypt. ... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA[1...

In the first decades following decolonization, first world and multilateral creditors such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund lent massively to third world governments. Money was frequently directed towards massive infrastructure projects such as dams and highways. Additional funds focused on an import substitution model of development, creating a capacity to replace imports from industrialized countries. Such policies emerged in a convergence of ideologies towards the concept of industrial development, shared by capitalists, communists and Third World nationalists. The terms First World, Second World, and Third World were used to divide the nations of Earth into three broad categories. ... The World Bank (the Bank), a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), was formally established on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement. ... “IMF” redirects here. ... This article is about structures for water impoundment. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Import substitution industrialization (also called ISI) is a trade and economic policy based on the premise that a developing country should attempt to substitute products which it imports, mostly finished goods, with locally produced substitutes. ...

Additionally, a number of dictatorships and arguably neocolonial governments imposed and/or backed by foreign powers received extensive debt-based financing to conduct civil wars or repression against their own population. In Central and South America, these policies fell under the rubric of the national security state, civil wars accumulated substantial debts in Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. In Haiti, the father-son dictatorship of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier accumulated massive debts, which the United States pressured then-exiled President Jean Bertrand Aristide to recognize as a condition of his return to power in 1995. Foreign military operations, such as the invasions of East Timor by Indonesia; of Angola and Namibia by South Africa; and of Iran and Kuwait by Iraq also led to massive indebtedness. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler were two of the 20th centurys most notorious dictators. ... Neocolonialism is the term describing international economic arrangements wherein former colonial powers maintained control of colonies and dependencies after World War II. Neocolonialism can obfuscate the understanding of current colonialism, given that some colonial governments continue administrating foreign territories and their populations in violation of United Nations resolutions[1] and... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Dr. François Duvalier, known as Papa Doc (April 14, 1907 – April 21, 1971[1]), was the President of Haiti from 1957 and later dictator (President for Life) from 1964 until his death. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jean-Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born July 15, 1953) is a Haitian politician and former priest who was President of Haiti in 1991, from 1994 to 1996, and again from 2001 to 2004. ...

Massive lending was followed by the threat of major defaults, such as that of Mexico, in the early 1980s, precipitating what became known as a debt crisis. Faced with the possibility of losing their investments lenders proposed a variety of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) to fundamentally reorient Southern economies. Most called for the drastic reduction in public welfare spending, focusing economic output on direct export and resource extraction, providing an attractive investment climate to multinational investors, increasing the fluidity of investment flows (by replacing foreign direct investment with the opening of stock markets) and generally enhancing the rights of foreign investors vis-a-vis national laws. In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met its legal obligations according to the debt contract, e. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Structural adjustment is a term used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the changes it recommends for developing countries. ... This article is about financial assistance paid by government organizations. ... Foreign direct investment (FDI) is defined as a long-term investment by a foreign direct investor in an enterprise resident in an economy other than that in which the foreign direct investor is based. ... A stock exchange is an organization of which the members are stock brokers. ...

As these programs became a prerequisite of lending and other development assistance from all major multilateral creditors, and as Soviet economic assistance evaporated in the late 1980s, SAPs became the dominant economic plan for much of the world's population. Saddled with massive debts, and unable to collectively alter unfavorable terms of trade, many Third World governments were pushed from the role of legislating economic policy to negotiating it. Many of them, such as Jamaica's Michael Manley, have argued they were even pushed into the job of managing an enforced economic transition against the wishes of their populations. Not to be confused with Political economy. ... Michael Norman Manley (December 10, 1924 – March 6, 1997) was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica (1972 – 1980, 1989 – 1992). ...

Arguments about the fairness of Third World Debt

First world critics of this point of view state that many of these debts were freely entered into by those countries' governments; it has, however, been argued that many of these governments were dictatorships or kleptocracies, and that the people of Third World countries cannot be held responsible for the actions of those governments. These critics further question if "unpayable debt" truly exists, since governments can refinance their debt via the IMF or World Bank, or come to a negotiatied settlement with their creditors. Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ... Kleptocracy (sometimes Cleptocracy) (root: Klepto+cracy) literally means rule by thieves. ... Refinancing refers to applying for a secured loan intended to replace an existing loan secured by the same assets. ... The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... The World Bank (the Bank), a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), was formally established on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement. ...

Debt relief activists claim that the debts of poor countries could easily be paid off by first world countries. For example, the Jubilee Debt Campaign argues that the UK could pay off all of the debt owed to it for £3 per person per year for the next ten years. Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. ... Jubilee Debt Campaign is the UKs campaigning successor to Jubilee 2000, comprising much of the UKs original Jubilee 2000 membership. ...

Some economists argue against this course of action on the basis that it would motivate countries to default on their debts, or to deliberately borrow more than they can afford, and that it would not prevent a recurrence of the problem. Economists often refer to this as a "moral hazard". But some critics and debt relief activists say the problem is not necessarily with borrowers, but with lenders, and thus the moral hazard is not necessarily immoral borrowing, but immoral lending. [1] Economists are scholars conducting research in the field of economics. ... This section is studied by Argagui monopoli In law and economics, moral hazard is the name given to the risk that one party to a contract can change their behaviour to the detriment of the other party once the contract has been concluded. ...

Libertarian economists also question the fairness of a government taxing its own citizens to pay off debts owed to it. Perhaps as a result of these considerations, there is little political will to write off the debts of third world countries. Some independent sources are questioning the current practice of issuing fiat 'money as debt' under fractional reserve banking.[2] See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ...

Debt relief in response to emergencies

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

When the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami hit, the G7 announced a moratorium on debts of twelve affected nations and the Paris Club suspended loan payments of three more.[3] By the time the Paris Club met in January 2005, its 19 member-countries had pledged a total of $3.4 billion in aid to the countries affected by the tsunami. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake,[1] was a great undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. ... G7 or G-7 or Group of Seven may be: Group of Seven (G7), a group of seven industrialized nations of the world, formed in 1976 when Canada joined the Group of Six (United States of America, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom); now known as G8 (with Russia) Group... The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the worlds richest countries, which provides financial services such as debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in January • 29 Ephraim Kishon • 25 Philip Johnson • 23 Johnny Carson • 22 Parveen Babi • 20 Jan Nowak-Jeziorański • 17 Virginia Mayo • 17 Zhao Ziyang • 15...

The debt relief for tsunami-affected nations was not universal. Sri Lanka was left with a debt of more than $8 billion and an annual debt service bill of $493 million. Indonesia retained a foreign debt of more than $132 billion (PDF) and debt service payments to the World Bank amounted to $1.9 billion in 2006.

G8 Summit 2005: Aid to Africa & Debt Cancellation

The traditional meeting of G8 finance ministers before the summit took place in London on 10 and 11 June 2005, hosted by former Chancellor Gordon Brown. On 11 June, agreement was reached to write off the entire US$40 billion debt owed by 18 Highly Indebted Poor Countries to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund. The annual saving in debt payments amounts to just over US$1 billion. War on Want estimates that US$45.7 billion would be required for 62 countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The ministers stated that twenty more countries, with an additional US$15 billion in debt, would be eligible for debt relief if they met targets on fighting corruption and continue to fulfill structural adjustment conditionalities that eliminate impediments to private investment and calls for countries to privatize industries, liberalize their economies, eliminate subsidies, and reduce budgetary expenditures. The agreement, which required weeks of intense negotiations led by Brown, must be approved by the lending institutions to take effect. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... (Redirected from 10 June) June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative aims at assisting the worlds poorest countries by bringing their external debt to sustainable levels, conditional on their governments showing satisfactory performance levels. ... The World Bank (the Bank), a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), was formally established on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement. ... “IMF” redirects here. ... The African Development Bank (ADB) is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of States dollar|$]]47. ... War On Want is a campaigning charity based in London, England, which highlights the needs of poverty-stricken areas around the world, lobbying governments and international agencies to tackle problems, as well as raising public awareness of the concerns of developing nations. ... The Millenium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals are eight goals that 192 United Nations member states have agreed to try to achieve by the year 2015. ... Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. ... Structural adjustment is a term used to describe the policy changes implemented by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (the Bretton Woods Institutions) in developing countries. ... A conditionality in international development is a condition attached to a loan or to debt relief, typically by the International Monetary Fund or World Bank. ...

While negotiations have essentially taken place between the G8 member states, some of which are reluctant to endorse debt cancellation and aid increases, African governments, advocacy organizations and their allies have criticised the Blair-Brown plan as inadequate and argued that the continuation of structural adjustment policies outweighs the benefits of debt cancellation, while also pointing out that only a small proportion of the Third World debt will be affected by the proposal. Structural adjustments have been criticized for years for devastating poor countries.^[1] For example, in Zambia, structural adjustment reforms of the 1980s and early 1990s included massive cuts to health and education budgets, the introduction of user fees for many basic health services and for primary education, and the cutting of crucial programs such as child immunization initiatives. Structural adjustment is a term used to describe the policy changes implemented by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (the Bretton Woods Institutions) in developing countries. ...

While applauding the deal as an important first step, Jubilee USA has called for a much broader initiative that includes all countries that need cancellation to achieve the MDGs and all creditors . Jubilee USA reported that only 1 in 10 people in the developing world will benefit from the G8 deal because so many nations (both low- and middle-income) are left out of the deal. [4] Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of churches, diverse faith communities, labor, environmental, solidarity, and community organizations building a grassroots movement to achieve the complete cancellation of unjust and illegitimate debt owed by countries with high levels of human need, and an end to unjust economic policies imposed on those... The Millennium Development Goals are eight goals that all 191 United Nations member states have agreed to try to achieve by the year 2015. ...

Besides the small number of countries included in the deal and the required structural adjustment reforms, the agreement has also been criticized as being inadequate for its failure to include all creditors. While countries that qualify for the HIPC process would have their debts cancelled to the World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank, Asian and Latin American countries will still have to pay debt service to the Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. The Latin American countries that qualify for the G8 debt deal – Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua – will pay almost $1.4 billion in debt service over the next five years to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). [5]

Agreement was not reached on Brown's proposed International Finance Facility, partly because the United States said that its budget procedures meant it was unable to make the necessary long-term funding commitments. The International Finance Facility (IFF) is a proposal by HM Treasury and Department for International Development of the United Kingdom. ...

Impact of Debt Relief

A number of impoverished countries have recently received partial or full cancellation of loans from foreign governments and international financial institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank.

Under the Jubilee 2000 banner, a diverse coalition of groups joined together to demand debt cancellation at the G7 meeting in Cologne, Germany. As a result, finance ministers of the world's wealthiest nations agreed to debt relief on loans owed by qualifying countries.[6] Logo of Jubilee 2000 Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries calling for cancellation of unpayable third world debt by the year 2000. ... G7 or G-7 or Group of Seven may be: Group of Seven (G7), a group of seven industrialized nations of the world, formed in 1976 when Canada joined the Group of Six (United States of America, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom); now known as G8 (with Russia) Group...

A 2004 World Bank/IMF study found that in countries receiving debt relief, poverty reduction initiatives doubled between 1999 and 2004. Tanzania used savings to eliminate school fees, hire more teachers, and build more schools. Burkina Faso drastically reduced the cost of life-saving drugs and increased access to clean water. Uganda more than doubled school enrollment. [7]

In 2005, Live 8 concerts paralleling the G8 Summit in Scotland brought the issue of debt once again to the attention of the media and world leaders. Debt cancellation for the 18 countries qualifying under this new initiative has also brought impressive results. For example, Zambia has used savings to drastically increase its investment in health, education, and rural infrastructure. [8] Official Live8 DVD, released in November 2005 Live 8 was a series of concurrent benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. ... G8 work session; July 20-22, 2001. ...

While celebrating the successes of these individual countries, debt campaigners continue to advocate for the extension of the benefits of debt cancellation to all countries that require cancellation to meet basic human needs and as a matter of justice.

To assist in the reinvestment of released capital, most International Financial Institutions provide guidelines indicating probable shocks, programmes to reduce a country’s vulnerability through export diversification, food buffer stocks, enhanced climate prediction methods, more flexible and reliable aid disbursement mechanisms by donors, and much higher and more rapid contingency financing. The global financial system (GFS) refers to those financial institutions and regulations that act on the international level, as opposed to those that act on a national or regional level. ...

Debt as a mechanism in Economic Crisis

An example of debt playing a role in Economic Crisis was the Argentine economic crisis. During the 1980's, Argentina, like many Latin American economies, experienced Hyperinflation. As a part of the process put in place to bring inflation under control, a Fixed exchange rate was put into place between Argentina's new currency and the US Dollar. This guaranteed that inflation would not restart, since for every new unit of currency issued by the Argentine Central Bank, the Central Bank had to hold a US Dollar against this - therefore in order to print more Argentine currency, the government required additional US Dollars. Before this currency regime was in place, if the government had needed money to finance a Budget deficit, it could simply print more money (thus creating Inflation); under the new system, if the government spent more than it earned through taxation in a given year, it need to cover the gap with US Dollars, not just by printing more money. The only way the Government could get these US Dollars to finance the gap, was through higher tax of exporters' earnings or through borrowing the needed US Dollars. Of course: a Fixed exchange rate is incompatible a structural (i.e. recurrant) Budget deficit, as the government would need to borrow more US Dollars ever year to finance its Budget deficit; eventually leading to an unsustainable amount of US Dollar Debt. The Argentine economic crisis was part of the situation that affected Argentinas economy during the late 1990s and early 2000s. ... Certain figures in this article use scientific notation for readability. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ... A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Argentina's debt grew continuously during the 1990s, climbing above $120 billion USD. As a structural Budget deficit continued, the Government kept borriwing more, Creditors continued to lend money, while the IMF suggested less state spending to stop the Government's ongoing need to keep borrowing more and more. As the Debt pile grew, it became increasingly obvious the Government's structural Budget deficit was simply not compatible with a low inflation Fixed exchange rate - either the government had to start earning as much as it spent, or it had to start (inflationary) printing of money (and thus abandoning the Fixed exchange rate as it would not be able to borrow the needed amounts of US Dollars to keep the exchange rate stable). Investors started to speculate that the Government would never stop spending more than it earned, and so there was only was only one path for the government - inflation and the abandonment of the Fixed exchange rate. In a similar fashion to Black Wednesday, Investors began to sell the Argentine currency, betting it would become worth less against the [[US Dollar] when the inevitable inflation started. The became a self fulling prophesy, quickly leading to the Government's US Dollar reserves to be exhausted. The crisis exploded in December 2001. In 2002, a default on about $93 billion of the debt was declared. Investment fled the country, and capital flow towards Argentina ceased almost completely. A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ... A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ... In British politics and economics, Black Wednesday refers to September 16, 1992 when the government was forced to withdraw the Pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) by currency speculators—most notably George Soros who earned over US$1 billion in doing so. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The December 2001 riots were a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina, which took place during December 2001, with the most violent incidents taking place on December 19 and December 20 in the capital, Buenos Aires. ...

The Argentine government met severe challenges trying to refinance the debt. Some creditors denounced the default as sheer robbery. Vulture funds who had acquired debt bonds during the crisis, at very low prices, asked to be repaid immediately. For four years, Argentina was effectively shut out of the international financial markets. A vulture fund is an financial organization that specializes in buying securities in distressed environments, such as high-yield bonds in or near default, or equities that are in or near bankruptcy. ...

Argentina finally got a deal by which 76% of the defaulted bonds were exchanged by others, of a much lower nominal value and at longer terms. The exchange was not accepted by the rest of the private debt holders, who continue to a challenge the government to repay them a greater of percentage of the money they originally lent. The holdouts have fromed groups such as American Task Force Argentina to lobby the Argentine government, in addition to seeking redress by attempting to seize Argentine foreign reserves.

Borrowing through bond markets

Main article: Emerging Market Debt

Historically, developing countries sought to borrow either from other sovereign governments, institutions such as the IMF and banks. Since the creation of the Brady Plan, however, the issuance of bonds by developing countries, known as Emerging Market Debt has increased sharply, leading to its development as a security. Emerging Market Debt (EMD) is a term used to encompass bonds issued by less developed countries. ... “IMF” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... The Brady Plan allowed creditors of Latin American countries to convert their existing debt claims into a variety or menu of new claims during the debt crisis of the 1980s. ... Emerging Market Debt (EMD) is a term used to encompass bonds issued by less developed countries. ... Securities are tradeable interests representing financial value. ...

References

• Brazil's debt

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, a former World Bank consultant alleges that the debt burden was intentionally created as a means of exerting political power.
• Deficit
• Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
• Money-laundering
• Odious debt
• U.S. public debt
• Underground economy
• Jubilee 2000
• Jubilee USA
• Haiti's external debt
• Susan George (political scientist)

Term used to describe an economist from selected large United States corporations who convince leaders of third countries around the world to take massive loans for projects that are said to mainly benefit the rich of that third world country. ... The World Bank (the Bank), a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), was formally established on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement. ... A budget deficit occurs when an entity (often a government) spends more money than it takes in. ... The 38 states recognized as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). ... Money laundering, the metaphorical cleaning of money with regard to appearances in law, is the practice of engaging in specific financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source, and/or destination of money, and is a main operation of underground economy. ... Odious debt is debt which is incurred by a regime for purposes which do not serve the interest of the state. ... The U.S. public debt, commonly called the national debt or the gross federal debt, is the amount of money owed by the United States federal government. ... This box:      The underground economy or shadow economy consists of all commerce that is not taxed. ... Logo of Jubilee 2000 Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries calling for cancellation of unpayable third world debt by the year 2000. ... Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of churches, diverse faith communities, labor, environmental, solidarity, and community organizations building a grassroots movement to achieve the complete cancellation of unjust and illegitimate debt owed by countries with high levels of human need, and an end to unjust economic policies imposed on those... // Early History Haiti’s legacy of debt began shortly after gaining independence from France in 1804. ... Susan George is a well known political scientist and writer on Third World poverty, underdevelopment and debt. ...

External links

• Bank Information Center
• Jubilee Debt Campaign
• Jubilee USA Network
• International Debt Crisis - curriculum materials from a Latin Americanist geographer
• "The Debt Threat: How Debt is Destroying the Developing World" - Author Noreena Hertz talks to Democracy Now! on January 13, 2005.
• 'Debt relief hopes bring out the critics - BBC
• Big Picture TV *I want the earth plus 5%
• European Network on Debt and Development