## Can Debt Relief Boost Growth in Poor Countries?

_Economic Issues, March 14, 2006_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Can Debt Relief Boost Growth in Poor Countries?](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/economic-issues/issues/2016/12/30/can-debt-relief-boost-growth-in-poor-countries-17384)

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Toan Quoc Nguyen, Benedict J. Clements, Rina Bhattacharya
- Published: March 14, 2006
- Series: Economic Issues
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781589063549.051

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### Overview
- Title: Can Debt Relief Boost Growth in Poor Countries?
- Authors: Toan Quoc Nguyen, Benedict J. Clements, Rina Bhattacharya
- Publication date: March 14, 2006
- Series: Economic Issues No. 2006/004
- Issue: 004
- Pages: 20
- Volume: 2006
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781589063549.051
- Stock No: EIIEA034
- ISBN: 9781589063549
- ISSN: 1020-5098
- Also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

### Summary of purpose and scope
- Examines the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative launched in 1999 by the IMF and the World Bank as the first coordinated effort to reduce foreign debt of the world’s poorest countries.
- Investigates the theory that heavy debt burdens were stifling economic growth in heavily indebted poor countries and preventing escape from poverty.
- Notes that most empirical research on debt and growth has aggregated a diverse group of countries, and that literature specifically on the impact of debt on poor countries is scant.
- Presents the authors’ empirical research analyzing the channels through which debt affects growth in low-income countries.

### Subjects and keywords
- Subjects: Asset and liability management, Debt relief, Debt service, Expenditure, External debt, Public debt, Public investment spending
- Keywords: dampening investment, debt, Debt relief, Debt service, debt stock, debt-overhang hypothesis, debt-service obligation, effects debt service obligation, EI, GDP, growth relationship, investment, Public investment spending

### Core analytical focus
- Evaluates whether debt relief under HIPC can boost growth in low-income countries by alleviating heavy debt burdens.
- Investigates channels linking debt to growth in poor countries, with attention to investment dynamics and debt-service obligations.
- Highlights the gap in the literature caused by prior studies combining heterogeneous country samples rather than focusing on low-income country experiences.

### Publication and access notes
- Format noted on landing page: Chicago citation preview provided.
- Downloadable PDF and multiple formats available via IMF eLibrary.

*Source: Can Debt Relief Boost Growth in Poor Countries?, International Monetary Fund, March 14, 2006.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/economic-issues/issues/2016/12/30/can-debt-relief-boost-growth-in-poor-countries-17384_