Commodity Prices and Debt Crisis in Subsaharan Africa

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	Commodity Prices and Debt Crisis in Subsaharan Africa
Author:	Taiwo, I.O.
Year:	1991
Periodical:	Eastern Africa Economic Review
Volume:	7
Issue:	2
Pages:	39-50
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:	external debt prices exports Economics and Trade Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Abstract:	This paper utilizes the various accounts that have been given of the debt crisis facing less developed countries to construct a model for the debt crisis facing sub-Saharan Africa. The main purpose of the paper is to identify the major causes of the crisis with a view to controlling it, while paying particular attention to the role of commodity prices. The author's model was estimated for a sample of eleven countries in sub-Saharan Africa using time series data for the period 1970-1988. The results show, among others, that the most important factor affecting debt crisis is the level of economic development, and that the role played by the decline in commodity prices has been exaggerated. Policy recommendations are then made on the basis of these results. Bibliogr., ref., sum.