ABSTRACT
In the introduction to this book we stressed the necessity for an analysis of the debt crisis that addresses both the macro-and the micro-levels of this problem. Such an approach is essential due to the fact that the origins of the crisis and obstacles to its solution lie in the interplay between factors arising from both these levels. Developments within the international politico-economic system have combined with various aspects of the operation of many Third World political economies to produce the burgeoning levels of indebtedness that have become so evident throughout Africa. Inevitably, this means that any attempt to provide an adequate analysis of SSA's debt crisis with a view to formulating proposals for its solution is fraught with the following difficulties. First, it means that any attempted solution must be addressed to both the international and the local (e.g. national) levels, rather than towards one or the other. It may be noted that most proposed solutions to the debt crisis tend to emphasize measures at one level, often to the exclusion of the other. Thus, debtor states are prone to argue in terms of the need for enhanced aid flows and a fairer international trading system, whilst donor states and organizations (e.g. the IMF and the USA) tend to emphasize the need for certain policy reforms on the part of Third World states. We would argue that in fact a combination of all the above measures will be necessary to address all aspects of the debt crisis.
