Assessment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Significance of the First Beijing Summit (2000) to Africa

This study assessed FOCAC and the significance of the first Beijing Summit resolutions to Africa. The paper adopted developmental research design and qualitative method of data collection by means of secondary data. The study also leveraged on complex interdependence theory as a framework for analysis. The study found out that the Beijing Summit resolution to Africa organized in the year 2000 laid the foundation of mutual cooperation and assistance for the forum on China-Africa cooperation. Assessing the significance of the summit in consonance with the aims and objectives of FOCAC, as highlighted at the summit, it was found out that the summit was significant not only in the areas of debt cancellation and establishment of African human resource development fund and investment, but also in the areas of boosting rapid development of overall cooperation, leading a new type of international cooperation with Africa, promoting democratization of international relations and improving global governance on the principle of win-win cooperation. The paper lamented that there are some challenges faced by FOCAC and recommendations were provided.

A Pathway to Racial Equity: Student Debt Cancellation Policy Designs

Student debt in the United States has had a disproportionate negative impact on black and Latinx borrowers. We argue that analyses of plans proposing student debt cancellation should therefore foreground their potential impact on racial equity. To do so, we use data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances and model the impact of debt cancellation on four key policy outcomes (reach, impact on the most vulnerable borrowers, borrower wealth gains, and impact on racial wealth gaps). We examine universal policy designs as well as designs that incorporate an income eligibility threshold as a means of targeting benefits toward less affluent borrowers. We find that cancellation amounts ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 yield the most desirable outcomes, especially when paired with a relatively low household income eligibility cutoff at between $100,000 and $150,000. Such policies would cancel roughly half of all outstanding student debt without substantially expanding the racial wealth gap, while still reaching a large majority of borrowers and leading to substantial wealth gains, especially for black households.

Cancelling ECB-held sovereign debt would harm not help

Significance The debate is timely, as in the next two months the European Commission will review the fiscal programmes of member states amid calls for further stimulus to boost economic recovery. Impacts The safest and surest way to cut sovereign debt in the most highly-indebted EU states will be by implementing growth-oriented investments. Further calls to cancel government debt will further fuel uncertainty at a time when consensus between euro-area states is most needed. Debt cancellation is highly unlikely because of opposition from euro-area countries with the lowest government-debt-to-GDP ratios.

Effects of External Public Debt Cancellation on the Economic Growth of the Republic Of Congo

This study, through temporal data and the ARDL process, examined the effects of the cancellation of external public debt on economic growth in the Republic of Congo over the 1990 to 2016 period. From this review, it appears that debt cancellation has a positive impact on economic growth over the short-term and a negative impact over the long term. Beyond these results, we believe that additional research is needed to examine the channels through which external public debt cancellation influence economic growth in the Republic of Congo.

Proposed West African currency faces further delays

Subject West African currency plans. Significance The new ‘Eco’ currency backed by the West African and Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU) and France is meant to be put into circulation in July. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and other political issues have compounded existing problems in meeting the deadline. At a recent extraordinary summit of ECOWAS leaders, the Eco issue was notably absent from the agenda. Meanwhile, divisions and confusion persist over proposed regional currency plans, with accusations from several mainly English-speaking states that an earlier ECOWAS-backed ‘Eco’ single currency has been hijacked. Impacts In the event the WAEMU Eco is introduced, France’s guarantee will mitigate the risk of capital flight and abrupt currency depreciation. Nigeria will likely oppose WAMZ members joining the WAEMU Eco until such point as there is no French involvement. ECOWAS’s short-term focus will be on the African Union’s debt cancellation and relief initiatives.