Indebitamento internazionale degli HIPC: da problema economico a problema politico (HIPC's International Debt: From Economic to Political Problem)

This paper analyzes the dynamic of the international debt of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), along with the socio-economic development. The structure of the paper is the following: a) the first part of the paper analyzes the dynamic of the structure of debt and socio-economic development (using 14 variables) of 34 HIPC during the period 198797, using a multi statistical analysis; b) the second part analyzes the relation between economic development and the structure of debt (period 1971-1998) for three benchmark countries (Niger, Bolivia and Tanzania); c) in the final part, employing a cross section analysis, the paper verifies the relation between one social indicator (life expectancy) and the international debt structure for the 34 HIPC. The main finding of the paper is that social and economic development is positively related to the debt stock, and it has a negative relation with the interest export ratio. Thus for the HIPC a reduction in debt service would be a better strategy than reducing the debt stock.    JEL Codes: F34, O19 Keywords: Debt, Development, International Debt