Abstract: | This paper examines the extent of the growth of external debt of 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the periods 1971-1979 and 1980-1990 and quantifies the relative importance of the factors which contributed to the current levels of the external debt in this region. The scope of the paper is limited to a quantitative analysis of the relative contribution of poor trade performance, inappropriate macroeconomic policies, and external shocks to the growth of the external debt burden of the region. For analytical purposes, the countries examined are divided into middle and low-income economies. The conclusion is that the contributions of external and internal factors to the growth of the net debt of the region varied between middle-income and low-income countries as well as between different countries. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |