Resolving China’s Corporate Debt Problem


Book Description

Corporate credit growth in China has been excessive in recent years. This credit boom is related to the large increase in investment after the Global Financial Crisis. Investment efficiency has fallen and the financial performance of corporates has deteriorated steadily, affecting asset quality in financial institutions. The corporate debt problem should be addressed urgently with a comprehensive strategy. Key elements should include identifying companies in financial difficulties, proactively recognizing losses in the financial system, burden sharing, corporate restructuring and governance reform, hardening budget constraints, and facilitating market entry. A proactive strategy would trade off short-term economic pain for larger longer-term gain.




China's Great Wall of Debt


Book Description

A stunning inside look at how and why the foundations upon which China has built the world’s second largest economy, have started to crumble. Over the course of a decade spent reporting in China as a financial journalist, Dinny McMahon came to the conclusion that the widely held belief in China’s inevitable economic ascent is dangerously wrong. In this unprecedented deep dive, McMahon shows how, lurking behind the illusion of prosperity, China’s economic growth has been built on a staggering mountain of debt. While stories of newly built but empty cities, white elephant state projects, and a byzantine shadow banking system have all become a regular fixture in the press, McMahon goes beyond the headlines to explain how such waste has been allowed to flourish, and why one of the most powerful governments in the world has been at a loss to stop it. Through the stories of ordinary Chinese citizens, McMahon tries to make sense of the unique—and often bizarre—mechanics of the nation’s economy, whether it be the state’s addiction to appropriating land from poor farmers; or why a Chinese entrepreneur decided it was cheaper to move his yarn factory to South Carolina; or why ambitious Chinese mayors build ghost cities; or why the Chinese bureaucracy was able to stare down Beijing’s attempts to break up the state’s pointless monopoly over table salt distribution. Debt, entrenched vested interests, a frenzy of speculation, and an aging population are all pushing China toward an economic reckoning. China’s Great Wall of Debt unravels an incredibly complex and opaque economy, one whose fortunes—for better or worse—will shape the globe like never before.




Global Debt Database: Methodology and Sources


Book Description

This paper describes the compilation of the Global Debt Database (GDD), a cutting-edge dataset covering private and public debt for virtually the entire world (190 countries) dating back to the 1950s. The GDD is the result of a multiyear investigative process that started with the October 2016 Fiscal Monitor, which pioneered the expansion of private debt series to a global sample. It differs from existing datasets in three major ways. First, it takes a fundamentally new approach to compiling historical data. Where most debt datasets either provide long series with a narrow and changing definition of debt or comprehensive debt concepts over a short period, the GDD adopts a multidimensional approach by offering multiple debt series with different coverages, thus ensuring consistency across time. Second, it more than doubles the cross-sectional dimension of existing private debt datasets. Finally, the integrity of the data has been checked through bilateral consultations with officials and IMF country desks of all countries in the sample, setting a higher data quality standard.




Global Waves of Debt


Book Description

The global economy has experienced four waves of rapid debt accumulation over the past 50 years. The first three debt waves ended with financial crises in many emerging market and developing economies. During the current wave, which started in 2010, the increase in debt in these economies has already been larger, faster, and broader-based than in the previous three waves. Current low interest rates mitigate some of the risks associated with high debt. However, emerging market and developing economies are also confronted by weak growth prospects, mounting vulnerabilities, and elevated global risks. A menu of policy options is available to reduce the likelihood that the current debt wave will end in crisis and, if crises do take place, will alleviate their impact.




China's Economic Transformation


Book Description

Now available in a fully-revised and updated third edition, this established textbook provides a penetrating and comprehensive analysis of the historical, institutional, and theoretical factors that have contributed to China’s economic success. Includes coverage of China’s foreign investments, trade with regional partners, Chinese human capital, and bureaucratic economic institutions Covers a diverse set of important issues, including environmental restraints, income distribution, rural poverty, the education system, healthcare, exchange rate policies, monetary policies, and financial regulation Accessibly written and intelligently organized to offer a straightforward guide to China’s economic evolution Written by a lauded economist, researcher, and advisor to government officials in mainland China and Taiwan




International Debt Statistics 2021


Book Description

International Debt Statistics (IDS), a long-standing annual publication of the World Bank, features external debt statistics and analysis for the 120 low- and middle-income countries that report to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System. IDS 2021 includes (1) an overview analyzing global trends in debt stocks of and debt flows to low- and middle-income countries within the framework of aggregate capital flows (debt and equity); (2) a feature story on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Debt Service Suspension Initiative in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) tables and charts detailing debtor and creditor composition of debt stock and flows, terms of new commitments, and maturity structure of future debt service payments and debt burdens, measured in relation to gross national income and export earnings for each country; (4) one-page summaries per country, plus global, regional, and income group aggregates showing debt stocks and flows, relevant debt indicators, and metadata for six years (2009 and 2015†“19); and (5) a user guide describing the tables and content, definitions and rationale for the country and income groupings used in the report, data notes, and information about additional resources and comprehensive data sets available to users online. Unique in its coverage of the important trends and issues fundamental to the financing of low- and middle-income countries, IDS 2021 is an indispensable resource for governments, economists, investors, financial consultants, academics, bankers, and the entire development community. For more information on IDS 2021 and related products, please visit the World Bank’s Data Catalog at https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/international-debt-statistics.




Public Debt Sustainability


Book Description

As countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic, they are confronted with an even more challenging debt crisis. Xavier Debrun argues in the foreword that in deciding where we go from here that there is no longer a consensus regarding the optimum design and enforcement of fiscal rules. Rather we must address a series of questions and challenges to the conventional wisdom. This book provides an opportunity for scholars to explore these questions from an international perspective, with reference to European countries, and emerging nations as well as the United States.




The Foreign Public Debt of China


Book Description

An outline of all the contracted obligations of former recognized Chinese governments and China's potential financial capacity.




This Time Is Different


Book Description

An empirical investigation of financial crises during the last 800 years.




Public Debt Sustainability in Developing Asia


Book Description

Addressing the global financial crisis has required fiscal intervention on a substantial scale by governments around the world. The consequent buildup of public debt, in particular its sustainability, has moved to center stage in the policy debate. If the Asia and Pacific region is to continue to serve as an engine for global growth, its public debt must be sustainable. Public Debt Sustainability in Developing Asia addresses this issue for Asia and the Pacific as a whole as well as for three of the most dynamic economies in the region: the People’s Republic of China, India, and Viet Nam. The book begins with a discussion of the reasons for increased attention to debt-related issues. It also introduces fiscal indicators for the Asian Development. Bank’s developing member countries and economies. The sustainability of their debt is assessed through extant approaches and with the most up-to-date data sources. The book also surveys the existing literature on debt sustainability, outlining the main issues related to it, and discusses the key implications for the application of debt sustainability analysis in developing Asia. Also highlighted is the importance of conducting individual country studies in view of wide variations in definitions of public expenditure, revenues, contingent liabilities, government structures (e.g., federal), and the like, as well as the impact of debt on interest rates. The book further provides in-depth debt sustainability analyses for the People’s Republic of China, India, and Viet Nam. Public Debt Sustainability in Developing Asia offers a comprehensive analytical and empirical update on the sustainability of public debt in the region. It breaks new ground in examining characteristics that are crucial to understanding sustainability and offers richer policy analysis that should prove useful for policymakers, researchers, and graduate students.