Who Owes Who?

50 Questions about World Debt

Damien Millet, Eric Toussaint

This book explains in a simple but precise manner how and why the debt impasse for developing countries has arrived. Illustrated with figures, maps and tables, it details the roles of the actors involved and the mesh in which indebted countries are caught. It explains scenarios for getting out of this impasse and alternatives to future indebtedness. It also sets out the arguments—moral, political, economic, legal and environmental—for a wholesale cancellation of developing countries’ external debt, while proposing new ways of financing development at both local and international levels. A comprehensive, up-to-date and radical guide, Who Owes Who? provides clear, practical arguments for students of development, activists and educators.

Contents

• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Maps
• 1. The Third World in the Context of Globalization
• 2. The Origins of the Developing Countries’ (DCs’) Debt
• 3. The Debt Crisis
• 4. Management of the Debt Crisis
• 5. Anatomy of the Developing countries’ Debt
• 6. Ongoing Moves to Reduce the Debt burden
• 7. Debt Cancellation and Suspensions of Payment in the Past
• 8. The Case for Cancelling the DCs’ Debts
• 9. Issues Raised by Debt Cancellation
• 10. The International Campaign for Debt Cancellation
• Appendix: Lists of Countries
• Glossary
• Bibliography

About the Authors

Damien Millet is a mathematics teacher and secretary general of The Committee for the Cancellation of Third World Debt (CADTM).

Eric Toussaint is an historian and political scientist, and president of CADTM. He is the author of several recent books in French on debt, development and globalization.

Excerpt

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