Description:
Please join us for a book launch with
Barry Herman and
Lydia Tomitova of the joint Carnegie Council–New School Ethics and Debt Project as they present
Dealing Fairly with Developing Country Debt, the resulting volume now available from Blackwell Publishing.
The recent economic collapse in Argentina and financial crisis in Turkey, and the persistent unsustainable debt burdens of many developing countries highlight the practically urgent problem of excessive indebtedness. High debt levels can limit a sovereign government's capacity to provide social services necessary for the well-being of its citizens, and divert resources and energy from the pursuit of long-term development strategies.
In this book, philosophers, theologians, lawyers and economists examine questions related to how to deal fairly with the over-indebted governments of developing countries. These questions include: How do you balance obligations to repay a debt with potentially worsening poverty in the debtor country? Should creditors be held accountable—and if so, how—for loans to governments that are not even minimally representative of their people's interests? Are there reforms to the practices governing sovereign borrowing and lending to sovereigns that would increase fairness in how the world treats developing countries with debt difficulties?
Jonathan Shafter will present on policy reforms in the area of international odious debt restructuring, drawing on his work for the International Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
