Célestin Monga for PS Longer Reads: Rethinking Debt Sustainability in Africa

Célestin Monga shows why analysts need a more holistic framework for assessing African countries' "balance sheets." [View this message in a web browser]( [PS On Point]( MARCH 3, 2023 As interest rates increase, so do concerns about public-debt levels in African countries. But, while public debt has gotten a bad reputation, many African governments are borrowing to finance essential, growth-enhancing infrastructure investments, notes Célestin Monga, a former chief economist of the African Development Bank. [Read more](. [PS Longer Reads: Rethinking Debt Sustainability in Africa]( [Rethinking Debt Sustainability in Africa]( By Célestin Monga To develop a proper understanding of the risks facing indebted African countries, international financial institutions must overhaul their own methods for assessing debt sustainability. Rather than setting arbitrary limits on a country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, the focus must shift to how debt is being used. [Read more]( [PS. Subscribe to PS Premium now to secure your copy of PS Quarterly: Paradigm Shifts.]( [PS Big Picture: Everything Flows in Ukraine]( [Everything Flows in Ukraine]( with Richard Haass, Nina L. Khrushcheva, Frans Timmermans, and more More than a year after Russia launched what was widely expected to be a quick rout of Ukraine’s forces, both sides are preparing for yet another round of offensives. As the United States and Europe reaffirm their support for Ukraine, the question of what it will take to end the war is more urgent – and complicated – than ever. [Read more]( [PS Longer Reads: Putin's Dogs of War]( [Putin's Dogs of War]( By Dina Khapaeva Like the war in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s previous imperial adventures in Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria, the emergence of the Wagner Group is consistent with Russia’s political development under Vladimir Putin. The regime rests on the corrupt control of privatized capital, and Wagner embodies the two trends that have come to define it. [Read more]( [PS. Subscribe to PS Digital now.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. Receipt of this newsletter does not guarantee rights to re-publish any of its content. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.