Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
http://www.linktv.org/third-world-debt
1.
2.
A loan = act of giving money, property or other material goods to another party in
exchange for future repayment of the principal amount along with interest or other
finance charges.
A loan may be for a specific, one-time amount or can be available as open-ended
credit up to a specified ceiling amount.
3.
Investigate rates on interest on loans in Hong Kong and another country e.g.
use www.tradingeconomics.com.
4.
Explain how changes in interest rates affect loan repayments and further
borrowing.
http://www.africaw.com/7-cartoons/detail/130-africa-in-a-financial-trap
Changes in interest rates can increase the amount paid back to the lender because
they have arranged the interest rate so it is advantageous to them.
5.
Not surprisingly, a country that is paying so much interest on its debt does not have much
room in its budget for other things. For the 2009/2010 fiscal year, Jamaica's interest
payments on the public debt were 45% of its government spending. This crowding out of
public investment and social spending has hurt Jamaica's progress towards the Millennium
development goals.
Jamaica's coverage rates for detection and treatment of tuberculosis declined from 79% in
1997 to 43% in 2006, the worst decline of 77 countries for which data was available. The net
enrollment ratio in primary school declined from 97% in 1991 to 87% in 2006/2007.
Jamaica's long term development failure is striking, and has a lot to do with its debt burden.
For the 20 years from 1988-2008, real income per person grew by just 14%, which is
incredibly dismal. The the country was hit by the U.S. and global recession at the end of
2008, losing export revenue, remittances, and other sources of aggregate demand.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jul/22/jamaica-debt-crisis?
guni=Article:in%20body%20link
Jamaica became independent from Britain in 1962, but it was only in the 1970s that the
government of Michael Manley initiated policies to reduce dependency on foreign capital,
improve living standards and fight inequality. He supported health and education,
nationalised industries, increased taxation on foreign investment and encouraged
agricultural self-sufficiency.
Jamaica has repaid more money ($19.8bn) than it has been lent ($18.5bn), yet the
government still "owes" $7.8bn, as a result of huge interest payments. Government foreign
debt payments ($1.2bn) are double the amount spent on education and health combined
($600m).
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/povertymatters/2013/apr/16/jamaica-decades-debt-damaging-future
Tasks
1.
Using the information contained in the case study identify the disadvantages
of being in debt.
2. Find an image or several images that represent:
Positive outcomes of debt
Negative outcomes of debt
Research Task
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
In pairs, research the roles of the World Bank and the IMF in promoting
economic development. What are the terms and conditions of the loans that
they make to countries? How does the World Bank differ from the IMF? Be
prepared to present your findings to the class.
Exam Practice
Make sure that you are able to
discuss whether the benefits of
international debt outweigh the
costs of international debt.
International Debt
Pros
Cons