Podcasts

Back

COVID-19 and the debt problems in Africa

21
May 2021
Hinh Dinh & Badr Mandri
Related topics: 

In these times of crisis, concerns about debt levels in low-income countries, particularly those in Africa, are growing. In recent months, countries on the continent have defaulted on their debts, while others have announced their intention to restructure their debts. The international community has reacted by initiating debt suspensions in favor of the poorest countries. However, the situation requires special attention with a more global mobilization. To discuss this issue, Badr Mandri, an economist at the Policy Center for the New South, welcomes Mr. Hinh Dinh, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South.

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    February 6, 2019
    This paper examines Turkey's case against Morocco before the World Trade Organization (WTO), over anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled steel products. Turkey's complaint constitutes both a precedent and an opportunity. First, it is a precedent in that Morocco was previously never involved in a case before GATT or WTO, neither as a plaintiff nor as a defendant. Second, it is an opportunity as the evaluation of the legal process of the complaint enables an assessment of adequacy of Moroc ...
  • Authors
    February 6, 2019
    Ce papier examine la plainte initiée par la Turquie devant l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) contre le Maroc au sujet des droits antidumping appliqués aux produits d’acier laminés à chaud. La plainte de la Turquie constitue à la fois un précédent et une opportunité. Un précédant d’abord, car jamais le Maroc n’a été impliqué, ni en qualité de partie plaignante ni en qualité de partie défenderesse, dans une affaire devant le GATT ou l’OMC. Une opportunité ensuite, par ce que l ...
  • January 1, 2019
    Morocco has moved towards a more flexible exchange rate system, by widening its currency fluctuation bands to +/- 2.5% around a central price. This transition will, in time, equip the Moroccan economy with a macroeconomic instrument acting as a shock absorber and facilitating rapid adjustment at lower costs. In the absence of such a mechanism, adjustment to macroeconomic shocks at times requires a contraction in demand and thereby a cyclical downturn in growth to restore external ba ...
  • Authors
    Yana Myachenkova
    November 27, 2018
    - The trade agreements that the European Union has with North African countries – with Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia – are often seen as having delivered disappointing results since they came into force during the 2000s. The four North African countries have seen insufficient growth in their exports to the EU, and have undergone only limited diversification. In the meantime, the EU’s exports to North Africa have grown quite rapidly. - Economic growth in North Africa has been ...
  • Authors
    Bouchra Rahmouni
    November 22, 2018
    Nowadays, links between development and security are widely recognized by many, just as they were during the development of the Marshall Plan. As mentioned in the United Nations "A More Secure World" report, threats to one are intrinsically a threat to all. Thus, 17 UN-agreed goals were agreed upon to help end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030, including goal 16 for "peaceful and inclusive societies". Last month, the UN’s inaugural Africa Dialogue S ...
  • November 14, 2018
    Depuis plus de 70 ans, le franc CFA est la monnaie commune à quatorze pays du continent africain. Procéder à une comparaison entre les taux d’inflation et de croissance des pays membres de l’Union économique monétaire de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (UEMOA) et de la Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale (CEMAC), permet d’analyser les taux d’inflation et de croissance d’une vaste région regroupant deux communautés : l’une, ayant choisi le franc CFA comme monnaie, composée ...
  • Authors
    November 13, 2018
    Livelihoods of northern Niger’s population depended for centuries on trade and cross-border movement of licit goods with Libya. Historical trends of domestic and regional shocks demonstrated the ability of local communities to adapt and adjust to transformations caused by these shocks to survive. People moving through and living in the area have different motivations and reasons to cross to Libya and beyond, but economic drivers remain the key factor. The local economy has suffered ...
  • Authors
    Sabine Cessou
    November 1, 2018
    Le séminaire de haut niveau, organisé par OCP Policy Center ce 2 novembre 2018 à Rabat, est axé sur « La migration : réconcilier les visions du Nord et du Sud ».  Il sera question dans cette rencontre, organisée en partenariat avec le Ministère délégué auprès du ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération internationale, Chargé des Marocains résidant à l’étranger, des affaires de la migration et l’IeMED, de la coopération internationale pour « lever les obstacles à la mob ...
  • Authors
    Sabine Cessou
    October 10, 2018
    La seconde thématique des Dialogues stratégiques, dont la 6ème édition s’est tenue le 4 octobre 2018 à Paris, a porté sur les réformes en cours au sein de l’organisation panafricaine. La rencontre est d’abord revenue sur le contexte global dans lequel opère l’Union africaine (UA). La géopolitique en Afrique n’est pas seulement menée par les ex-puissances coloniales et la Chine, mais bien par les pays africains eux-mêmes, a ainsi rappelé l’ancien ministre français des Affaires étran ...