A BEJM Topics article.

Abstract

In this paper, we paint a statistical portrait of the determination of external debt for a set of low- and middle-income countries. The goal is to facilitate thinking about the role played by international capital flows in the development process. Empirically, we find that external debt is strongly increasing in the level of initial output. This remains true even when we control for variation in productivity and creditworthiness. More open economies also are found to have higher debt levels.

Submitted: July 29, 2003 · Accepted: December 12, 2003 · Published: January 30, 2004

Originally published in Topics in Macroeconomics.

Recommended Citation

Lane, Philip R. (2004) "Empirical Perspectives on Long-Term External Debt," Topics in Macroeconomics: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1, Article 1.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/bejm/topics/vol4/iss1/art1