Debt Problems Research Articles

Politics by Default: China and the Global Governance of African Debt

In the last two decades, the rapid growth of many African economies has coincided with deepening commercial and political ties with China and a re-emergence of perilous indebtedness. US administrations have warned that Beijing is ensnarling Africa in debt to gain political leverage and force African states to cede strategic assets to China. The charge that China is uniquely responsible for Africa’s heavy debt is also shaping the flagship debt initiatives of the World Bank and the IMF. An analysis of the theoretical assumptions underpinning the ‘debt-trap’ narrative and the empirical evidence indicates that the preoccupation with China’s role is misguided, and is in fact rendering it harder to service and relieve African debt. Furthermore, framing the African debt problem in terms of great-power rivalry obscures structural features of the international financial system that are far more consequential in shaping the liquidity and solvency of African states.

Technical Debt Problems and Concerns

This article reports papers about technical debt (TD) from the 2021 IEEE/Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) International Conference on technical debt (TechDebt’21), the 43rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Journal First Track (ICSE-JF’21), the 43rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice Track (ICSE-SEIP’21), and the 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR’21). Feedback or suggestions are welcome. In addition, if you try or adopt any of the practices included in the column, please send us and the authors a note about your experiences.

Addressing sovereign debt challenges in the era of COVID-19 and beyond: The role of the United Nations

Traditionally, sovereign debt problems of developing countries have been discussed mostly at institutions representing the creditors, such as the Paris Club, and at the International Monetary Fund, but they have also been addressed by the United Nations, mostly in the context of its international conferences on financing for development. Although the views of the United Nations on debt are not widely known, they are highly relevant in the post-COVID-19 context, as inflationary pressures could lead to tightened global financial conditions and exacerbate debt vulnerabilities in developing countries. The present paper provides an overview of sovereign debt restructurings from the 1980s, a summary of the debt situation of Asia and the Pacific as a case study and a review of the views of United Nations on debt issues. It also offers suggestions to improve the global debt architecture based on such views by highlighting the importance of linking debt sustainability with sustainable development in debt restructuring workouts and through a hub-and-spoke institutional arrangement to disseminate prudential debt management practices and promote transparency.

ВПЛИВ БОРГОВОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ УРЯДУ НА РОЗВИТОК ЕКОНОМІКИ УКРАЇНИ

The influence of the government's debt policy on the development of Ukraine's economy is analyzed. It is determined that today almost all indicators of debt stability in Ukraine exceed the critical limit, beyond which the state loses the ability to solve debt problems on its own. Thus, during 2014–2021, the domestic public and state-guaranteed debt of Ukraine increased in hryvnia equivalent by 3.9 times and as of the end of 2021 amounted to UAH 1,111.6 billion. The increase in debt was primarily due to direct public debt, which increased 4.1 times during the analyzed period. It is concluded that the scale of government borrowing in Ukraine makes it a threat to the economy, because without a change in the current government debt policy, the risk of the government's inability to meet its obligations to repay and service the debt will increase. Emphasis is placed on rethinking the country's economic policy in the direction of limiting the country's debt dependence, improving the structure of balance of payments and foreign trade balances, a balanced approach to the liberalization of relations in the foreign economic sphere and attracting foreign investment. A detailed analysis of trends in the issuance of domestic and external government bonds, as well as attracting debt financing from international financial organizations. The study of trends, and most importantly the structure of domestic government bonds, suggests that their growth is due to the need to finance not only the state budget deficit, but also the shortcomings and miscalculations of monetary and debt policy, as well as protectionist interests of individual businesses. Emphasis is placed on the fact that a significant share of non-residents' funds in domestic government bonds increases the country's exchange rate and financial vulnerability and is a factor that allows non-residents to influence the foreign exchange market and, accordingly, the national currency and international reserves of Ukraine.

ЗАГАЛЬНІ КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНО-ПРАКТИЧНІ АСПЕКТИ ВПЛИВУ ФІНАНСОВОГО РИНКУ НА РОЗВ’ЯЗАННЯ БОРГОВИХ ПРОБЛЕМ

The article is devoted to the justification of conceptual and practical grounds of financial market potential usage in debt problems solution. Emphasis is placed on the insufficient implementation of the dependence of the effectiveness of socio-economic development on the existing financial and economic space of the state, which, being included in one interaction, provide an opportunity to obtain synergistic effects. Among the important prerequisites for the conceptual and practical transformation of the financial and economic space of the state, which in its new quality will have an impact on development, the problems of public debt and the possibilities of the financial market to solve them are considered. Taking into consideration their deep impact on the dynamics of financial relations, the following chain is outlined: "development – space – debt problems – financial market", the imbalance of the latter can influence the effectiveness of change in society, economy and finance in a negative way. It is stated that each of the above-mentioned links with the condition of their own development makes the natural determinant of the other one. It is simultaneously substantiated that the general methodological and practical basis for achieving the appropriate balance is rooted in the spatial approach thus it lies in the matter of financial space formation. It is shown that knowledge of ways to optimize debt policy remains in the process of formation. Debt resolution continues to be dominated due to traditional factors and is not being sufficiently expanded for account of those that have an indirect impact, particularly connected with deeper infiltration into the multidimensional interrelations with the determining factors of the financial space. The factors that give the financial market a special place among the components of development and strengthening of the financial space are presented. The relevance of using the whole range of functional features of this market, which goes beyond the implementation of debt financing, and aimed at strengthening the financial space, is substantiated. The only basis that can optimize the development policy is schematically represented by the chain "financial market – debt problems – space – development". Increased attention to the role of the financial space in solving debt problems and shaping contribution of the financial market, changes the strategic approach to debt policy and further development in general.

Perceived Stress and Suicidal Ideation among the Farmers: A Cross Sectional Study from the Rural Field Practice Area of a Medical College in Karnataka

Introduction: Psychological Stress and other mental health problems are highly neglected in Indian farming Community. Changing climatic, weather and environmental conditions affected the growth of crops and yield. This has resulted in various stressful conditions faced by the farmers. The psychological stress leads to tensions in the family relationship, variations in their daily life, and poor operational decisions while farming and even may lead to farm accidents, suicides among them. Objectives: To study the Stress levels perceived by the farmers and the factors determining the stress among them and to study the suicidal ideation among farmers in the previous 6 months. Method: A Community based Cross sectional study was carried out in the villages of Kalghatagi taluk, among 324 marginal & small scale farmers of age group 18-60 years, using pretested semi-structured questionnaire comprising of socio-demographic details, occupational characteristics, perceived stress and the reasons for stress. The 4 item Perceived Stress Scale was used for the assessment of Stress levels. Higher Score indicates high levels of Stress. Results: Among 324 farmers, 69.8% of the farmers were males, majority of them belonged to 50-60 years, and most of them were small scale farmers. The mean perceived score was 6.29+4.38 SD. Majority of the farmers reported crop failure (35%) and debt (37%) as the reasons for stress. The major determinants of stress among farmers were crop failure, debt and family problems. Among 324 farmers 25.3% reported suicidal ideation in the previous 6 months. The Mean stress scores were high among those with suicidal ideation (12.69±1.12 SD). Conclusion: The study shows that stress levels were high among farmers and are related to the failure of crops, inability to pay the debts and other factors. The Mental health problems of the farmers should be addressed at early stages to reduce the burden of farmers’ suicides. Primary mental health care should be made available to the rural population.

Peranan Evaluasi Sistem Pengendalian Internal Piutang Usaha Dalam Upaya Meningkatkan Efektivitas Organisasi

PDAM Solok Regency faces problems in internal control of its business receivables, such as bad debt problems, the length of the billing period, and the occurrence of cash lapping cases that make researchers interested in conducting research. This study aims to provide an evaluation of the internal control system for accounts receivable using a control matrix based on of COSO’s internal control integrated framework at PDAM Kabupaten Solok. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method with the type of data in the form of subject data and documentary data and data sources in the form of primary data and secondary data. Data collection techniques are interviews, observation, and documentation. The results of this research indicates that there is still an internal control system that has been implemented and has not been implemented by PDAM Solok Regency on accounts receivable, but overall it is quite effective and efficient.

Current state and prospects of resolution of public external debt problem in Russia

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of public external debt problem in Russia in period of 1991–2021. The author highlights and characterizes five stages of the debt problem development. A distinctive feature of the current stage (2014 — present) is the presence of sanctions risk, which remains one of the most important factor of the Russian loan portfolio. The narrowing of opportunities for Russian public debt is likely to increase Russia’s dependence on domestic financing which is already high. It is established that external corporate debt has been determining the dynamics and volume of Russian external debt since the mid-2000s. It is revealed that from the point of view of debt sustainability of country, Russian economy is in more favourable position than many developed countries in the grip of debt crisis. However, there are risks to the country’s external debt sustainability, and they lie in the corporate sector. Special attention is paid to the fact that a significant part of corporate debt is formed by the debt of quasi-sovereign organizations. At the end of the article, a plan on replacement of external sources of loans with domestic ones is proposed. During implementation of this plan, it is necessary to take into account that the loans from companies and banks from classic offshores and from countries involved in offshore financial schemes form a significant part of corporate debt. Consequently, these may be ordinary intra-corporate financial transactions, and the real corporate external debt is much lower and requires less financial resources to settle it.

Blake's debt: Artisanship and the future of labor

AbstractTaking as prerequisite Peter Frase's argument that the labor markets and living conditions of the twenty‐first century will be primarily determined by the dual “specters of ecological catastrophe and automation,” this article investigates William Blake's poetic response to the problems of religious and financial debt within the context of his own environmentally compromised era. It briefly historicizes the financial components of Blake's printmaking before turning to an examination of his illuminated books, which imagine a form of debt relief grounded in a millenarian theory of political intervention. While Blake's investment in artisanal labor reveals an aversion to technological reproducibility, his cyclical notion of an artificially constructed ecological future models a technologically hybrid ontology useful for addressing Frase's nexus of environmental destruction and mechanized production.

Fixing the collective action problem in sovereign debt restructuring: significance of Global South solidarity

This paper attempts to analyse the limitations of contractual mechanisms of resolving collective action disputes against sovereign debtors. The Global South has been at the receiving end of the sovereign debt obligations and collective action clauses (CACs) agenda. The lack of control over the domestic economy and the human rights impacts of mounting sovereign debt brings to the fore the absolute lack of fairness and equity in the CAC-based framework for restructuring sovereign debt. The contemporary international order does not address the non-economic concerns of an indebted state. The unfair treatment meted out to the Global South opens the need for Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL) voices against sovereign debt. The current discourse and literature on CAC have remained mainly aloof to the contributions and importance of TWAIL in the context of CACs. Sovereign debt and the use of CACs need a fresh outlook based on the development of international human rights law. Alternative movements based on Global South solidarity against the present structural and systemic problems of sovereign debt and CACs need to be explored.

Poor mental health is associated with the exacerbation of personal debt problems: A study of debt advice adherence.

It is known that there is an association between debt and poor mental health. However, much of the literature is observational and focuses on how debt may lead to poor mental health. Here, we are interested in how poor mental health may be associated with debt advice adherence. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between mental health and debt advice adherence in individuals applying for a formal debt resolution mechanism (an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, IVA). Eighty-six participants completed a survey measuring mental health (MHI-5), memory for information discussed during the appointment, attitudes towards IVAs, and trust in the advisor shortly after having a debt advice appointment. Adherence to the advice (whether participants completed the IVA application) was measured 10 weeks later. The study found that the sample demonstrated poor levels of mental health overall but that non-adherent participants had significantly poorer mental health than those who adhered to the advice. These results suggest that (a) mental health needs to be considered when advising people with problem debt and (b) future research might examine if mental health support should coincide with important decision points in the debtor's journey out of debt.

ОСОБЕННОСТЬ ЮРИДИЧЕСКОЙ ПРИРОДЫ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОГО ДОЛГОВОГО ПРАВА

In this article, the author examines important problematic issues of international debt law as an institution of international financial law: he determines the trends of development now and in the future of international legal norms, rules, standards. Leadership in the field under consideration. The article provides an assessment of acceptable ways to solve the debt problem at the universal level. The author suggests ways to more effectively restructure the external debts of states, taking into account their legislation and contractual practice. The evaluation of documents related to the management of external debts of States is given.

Debt Problem of One Partner and Depressive Morbidity in the Other: A 2-Year Follow-up Register Study of Different-Sex Couples in Sweden

This study sets out to examine whether depressive morbidity varies by status of financial indebtedness of a spouse or cohabiting partner. For this purpose, individuals aged between 20 and 60 with a different-sex spouse/cohabiting partner with a registration date for a debt at the Swedish Enforcement Authority (SEA) during 2017 (n = 6979) are followed-up for a 2-year period for prescriptions of antidepressants and compared with a sample from the general Swedish population (n = 29,708). The analysis is based on penalized maximum likelihood logistic regressions. Both women and men were more likely to suffer from depressive morbidity if the spouse/cohabiting partner had been registered at the SEA in 2017 and was still active for a debt in the SEA’s register in 2018 (OR 1.31 and OR 1.57, respectively), irrespective of their own health, employment, socioeconomic status, and other background variables. This also held true for men if a wife/cohabiting partner had been registered at the SEA in 2017 but was no longer active for a debt in the SEA’s register in 2018 (OR 1.29). For women, on the other hand, only those with no history (11-year period) of prescription of psychotropic medications were also at an enhanced risk of depressive morbidity if a husband/cohabiting partner had gone from being registered for a debt at the SEA in 2017, to not being registered as active for a debt in the SEA’s register in 2018 (OR 1.24). The results reinforce the importance of acknowledging that negative effects of financial indebtedness extend beyond the individual debtor.

Currency Mismatches and Public Debt Management: What is Effective Strategy for Developing Country?

Developing countries are often confronted with debt problems because of the risks of over-indebtedness and especially the heavy default history. In such a context, debt management must be rigorous and guarantee a stable debt. However, such management is difficult in an environment marked by liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and assets denominated in domestic currencies, i.e., an environment of currency mismatches. The objective of this paper is then to determine, from a partial equilibrium model, an effective strategy for managing public debt in the presence of currency mismatches. We conclude that it is preferable to arbitrate between a debt denominated in foreign currency and a debt denominated in domestic currency. We also find that this arbitation depends on the financing conditions, i.e. the domestic interest rate and the risk premium on foreign debt. More precisely, when the government's objective is to minimize the interest burden, it is preferable to issue more local currency debt and less foreign currency debt, as long as the domestic interest rate is lower than the risk premium on foreign debt.

Impact of China’s Provincial Government Debt on Economic Growth and Sustainable Development

Macroeconomic stability is the core concept of sustainable development. However, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused government debt problems worldwide. In this context, it is of practical significance to study the impact of government debt on economic growth and fluctuations. Based on panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2019, we used the Mann–Kendall method and Kernel Density estimation to analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of China’s provincial government debt ratio and adopted a panel model and HP filtering method to study the impact of provincial government debt on economic growth and fluctuation. Our findings indicate that, during the sample period, China’s provincial government debt promoted economic growth and the regression coefficient (0.024) was significant. From different regional perspectives, the promotion effect of the central region (0.027) is higher than that of the eastern (0.020) and western regions (0.023). There is a nonlinear relationship between China’s provincial government debt and economic growth, showing an inverted “U-shaped” curve. Fluctuations in government debt aggravate economic volatility, with a coefficient of 0.009; tax burden fluctuation and population growth rate aggravate economic changes. In contrast, the optimization of the province’s industrial structure and the improvement of the opening level of provinces slow down economic fluctuations.

МИРОВАЯ ФИНАНСОВАЯ СИСТЕМА: ГЛОБАЛЬНЫЕ ТРЕНДЫ И КАЧЕСТВЕННЫЕ ИЗМЕНЕНИЯ

The article reveals the main problems with which the global financial system has been faced by 2022. Among them are the debt problem, global regulatory arbitrage, increased imbalances in the current account of the balance of payments at the global level, challenges associated with the development of digital finance, an imbalance between the role of emerging market economies and developing countries in the global economy and their role in global governance, etc. The challenges faced by the global financial system in 2022 include increased uncertainty, possible development of fragmentation processes, increased global inflation, worsening debt problems, and the development of “contagion” effects between emerging markets.

Financial Structure Adjustment and Firm’s Steady Leverage under New Development Pattern —Research Based on Influence Mechanism and Enterprise Heterogeneity

How to grasp the dynamic balance between “stable growth” and “stable leverage”, prevent and control financial risks, optimize the allocation of financial resources, and achieve active and stable deleveraging by non-financial enterprises is a major issue that needs to be resolved urgently. Based on the financial data of 4054 non-financial listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2007 to 2020, this paper empirically studies the relationship between the marketization level of financial structure and the leverage ratio of non-financial enterprises in China by constructing a dynamic panel model. It is found that the improvement of the marketization level of financial structure can significantly reduce the leverage ratio of enterprises, extend their debt maturity of enterprises, and effectively improve the problem of short-term debt for long-term use. This kind of influence shows certain heterogeneity among enterprises with different property rights, scales and industries. The influence of marketization level of financial structure on leverage ratio of enterprises can be enhanced with the improvement of their innovation degree. The research conclusions of this paper enrich the discussion on increasing the proportion of direct financing and promoting the development of multi-level capital markets, and provide policy references for active and prudent deleveraging.

External Debt-Economic Growth Nexus: The Sierra Leonean Case (1973-2021)

The study investigates the nexus between external debt and economic growth in Sierra Leone for the period spanning between 1973 and 2021. In many developing countries, huge external indebtedness has been seen as a strong break on the road to economic growth and development. Indeed, the study focuses on both external and internal factors that are responsible for the external debt problem in Sierra Leone. Data employed in this study are secondary and were collected from various sources including the Central Bank of Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Finance. Key macroeconomic variables such as external debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, external debt service to export earnings ratio and terms of trade were specified in the model and tested for stationarity using unit root tests. The study also employed the ordinary least square (OLS) technique for the purpose of estimating the relevant parameters of the model. Various diagnostic tests are carried out to appraise the robustness of the estimated growth equation using appropriate econometric criteria. The study empirically reveals a negative nexus between external debt and economic growth in Sierra Leone for the period under study signifying that debt accumulation impacts adversely on the country’s long-run growth trajectory which confirms debt “overhang” problem in Sierra Leone. This is clearly evident in the coefficients of the variables representing debt as a ratio of GDP, debt service as a ratio of export earning and terms of trade. The study, therefore, proffers certain recommendations in line with the findings.

Problem identification and intervention in the higher education data synchronization system in Indonesia

IT Department identified problems in reporting student study activities (AKM) by interviewing stakeholders. Then the priorities of the problems are ineffective business process and technical matters determined by using Pareto Analysis. This study proposed two solutions, application of data governance to achieve an effective business process and application of metadata management to solve the technical matters. Both solutions were socialized, tested and applied among all stakeholders. The result was that the percentage of AKM completeness increased significantly from 84% to 100% and Data Reporting Team now can send data faster and reduce data transmission errors which decrease technical debt problem.

Consolidated Debts of the U.S. non-financial sector: Post-pandemic Estimates

The purpose of the article is to study the trends, problems and risks of consolidated domestic debts of the US non-financial sector at the present stage. The problems of budgets of different levels are considered: the federal budget, state budgets, the influence of the “pandemic” crisis on their income and expenses. In the framework of the analysis of the debts of the US non-financial sector the national (sovereign) debt of the United States, the aggregated debts of states and municipalities are singled out, and the heterogeneity of their financial situation is studied. The debt problems of the US non-financial business, primarily corporate debts, are touched upon. Particular attention is paid to the debts of American households.