Africa's Odious Debts How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled a Continent

The latest title in the hugely successful African Arguments series, Africa's Odious Debt reveals that, contrary to the popular perception of Africa being a drain on the financial resources of the developed world, more money destined for the West leaves the continent than it actually receives.The extent of capital flight from sub-Saharan Africa is remarkable: $420 billion in the period 1970-2004 - this hemorrhaging of capital being substantialy fueled by borrowing from international creditors. It also shows the hidden counterparts of Africa's external debts are the external assets built through such capital flight. The crucial difference being that whereas the debts are owed by the African people through their governments, these assets are strictly private, held by wealthy and politically well-connected individuals.Connecting these dots, the authors make a convincing and forcefully argued case for selective repudiation of Africa's 'odious debts': external debts incurred by kleptocratic regimes without the consent of their people, from which the people derived no economic benefit. This is a vital book for anyone interested in Africa, its future and its relationship with the West.

James K. Boyce is Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he directs the program on development, peacebuilding, and the environment at the Political Economy Research Institute. His previous books include Peace and the Public Purse: Economic Policies for Postwar Statebuilding (co-edited with Madalene O’Donnell); Investing in Peace: Aid and Conditionality after Civil Wars; and A Quiet Violence: View from a Bangladesh Village (co-authored with Betsy Hartmann.) He is a graduate of Yale University and received his doctorate from Oxford University.

Léonce Ndikumana is Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He served as Director of Operational Policies and Director of Research at the African Development Bank, and Chief of Macroeconomic Analysis at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). He has contributed to various areas of research and policy analysis on African countries, including the issues of external debt and capital flight, financial markets and growth, macroeconomic policies for growth and employment, and the economics of conflict and civil wars in Africa. He is a graduate of the University of Burundi and received his doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Introduction * Tales from Two Countries * Measuring African Capital Flight * The Revolving Door: Debt and Capital Flight * The Human Costs of Debt-Fuelled Flight *  Africa's Odious Debt: The Way Forward