Gallagher Publishes Op-Ed on G20 Debt Relief Strategy
On November 24, 2020, Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy and Director of the Global Development Policy Center at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published an op-ed for Project Syndicate discussing the G20’s recently announced debt relief framework for poor countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the op-ed, titled “The G20 Debt Plan Does Not Go Far Enough,” Gallagher and co-author Shamshad Akhtar – former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and current Chair of the Board of Directors of Karandaaz Pakistan – explain the shortcomings of the G20’s COVID-19 debt relief plan for economically struggling countries. The framework was announced at the G20’s virtual summit held November 21-22, 2020.
The two argue that the plan falls short in three ways: it fails to acknowledge that middle-income countries also suffer debt distress, it doesn’t ensure that the private sector play a part in providing debt relief, and it doesn’t set a path for recovering countries to embark on green and inclusive initiatives that fulfill the Paris Agreement/Sustainable Development Goals. They went on to discuss their own proposed debt-relief initiative, which focuses on promoting a green and inclusive recovery.
An excerpt:
Advanced economies have the wherewithal – though not always the will – to borrow cheaply and implement inclusive green stimulus packages to build back better from COVID-19. But many emerging-market and developing countries do not…These countries now face a stark choice: they can spend enough to protect their citizens’ health and restart their economies, or service their debts and have virtually no resources left to tackle the pandemic and kick-start economic recovery.
The full article can be read on Project Syndicate‘s website.
Kevin Gallagher is a professor of global development policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he directs the Global Development Policy Center. He is author or co-author of six books, including most recently, The China Triangle: Latin America’s China Boom and the Fate of the Washington Consensus. Read more about him here.