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With China's rise to become Africa's largest bilateral creditor, much research has focused on an evidence-based critique of the politicised narrative about China's supposed 'debt trap diplomacy'. At a more fundamental level, this debate problematises the function of debt and related power differentials in late capitalism and calls into question development paradigms, notably the hegemonic infrastructure-led development regime, that have sustained Africa's financial dependency into the 2020s. As the International Monetary Fund is yet again shuttling between Addis Ababa, Lusaka, and Nairobi to resurrect fiscal discipline and to ensure debtor compliance for the post-pandemic 'payback period', it is argued that (i) periodic cycles of debt financing, debt distress and structural adjustment are a systemic feature of the malintegration of Africa into the global capitalist economy, and (ii) critical research on the social costs and economic beneficiaries of renewed rounds of austerity and privatisation in Africa's current debt cycle is needed.

We examine how the introduction of credit default swap (CDS) trading on the debt of individual firms affects corporate payout policy. We find that firms increase payouts to shareholders after the introduction of CDS trading on their debt. This suggests that CDS-referenced firms are more likely to be affected by decreased creditor monitoring than by tougher CDS-insured creditors when determining total payout amount. Moreover, the increase in payouts after CDS introduction is more pronounced in firms with smaller institutional ownership and greater bank debt dependency. Finally, we show that CDS-referenced firms tend to prefer stock repurchases that have a financial flexibility advantage over dividends to protect against the potential threat of tougher CDS-insured creditors.

In Post-Soviet Central Asia, China is emerging as one of the most influential players as a result of an overall increase in its global role. The Central Asian region forms a crucial part of the Belt and Road Initiative thanks to its strategic location and natural wealth. Relations between China and Central Asian countries have been developing very dynamically over the past two decades and China has had a substantial impact on the five economies. Although the Chinese approach is quite cautious regarding politics and security, there is much greater interest in the economic side, most significantly in energy and infrastructure. The purpose of this study is to explore the key issues behind China’s economic presence in the region and to determine subsequent challenges for Central Asian countries. The methodology consists of an analysis of Chinese investment characteristics in order to understand the economic consequences of the superpower’s involvement in Central Asia.

Earnings management is the practice of deriving certain benefits by intervening in external financial reporting or misleading certain stakeholders through adjustments to accruals without cash flow involvement or with affecting cash flows through real activities. Using the models of Kothari et al. (2005) and Cohen et al. (2008) for accrual-based earnings management (AEM) and real activities earnings management (REM), respectively, we examined whether relationships exist between key financial indicators, such as cash flows from operations, operating income, and debt dependency level, and AEM and REM in the ready mixed concrete (RMC) industry in Korea. This study is the first to investigate earnings management in Korea’s RMC sector. Results showed that operating income and cash flows from operations are significantly negatively related to AEM and REM, consistent with the findings of previous research. By contrast, debt dependency exhibits no significant relationship with AEM and REM, contradicting the findings of most previous studies. As a moderating variable, operating income affects the relationship between cash flows from operations and earnings management with only REM. On these bases, we can infer that earnings management in the Korean RMC industry responds differently to key financial indicators with regards to AEM and REM practice. Overall, companies in the industry implement aggressive earnings management depending on operating income and cash generation ability level rather than debt dependency level. These findings provide important insights for people who are interested in accounting information on the RMC industry in Korea.

In this paper, we study the influence of uncertainty in economic policy on the business operations distribution using data from China. In doing so, we rely on the China Economic Policy Uncertainty Index and focus on large firms that have subsidiaries to which they can distribute these business operations. Our empirical testing find that companies' business operations distribution has a negative relationship with uncertainty in economic policies. Further, under the environment of uncertain economic policy, first, the distribution of business operations will converge; second, companies tend to distribute operations to subsidiaries if they have dependence on external financing; third, state-owned companies are more likely to distribute business operations to subsidiaries; finally, companies will distribute business operations within the parent companies in the high degree of financial marketization.

This chapter contains sections titled: The Four Faces of Globalization Three Eucharistic Snapshots Two Theologies Invocation Bibliography

This study aims to investigate the dynamics of Argentina’s public external debt between 2015 and 2023, with a particular focus on the expansion of this variable within the context of a stagnant economy and persistent high inflation. Argentina has often been characterised as a ‘serial defaulter’, and after restructuring its sovereign debt between 2005 and 2010, the country defaulted once again in 2019/20. Consequently, Argentina undertook a new sovereign debt restructuring process, involving both private creditors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2020 and 2022. The research will adopt a theoretical approach grounded in the political-economy tradition of Latin American thinkers, while also comparing it with alternative frameworks, such as Buchanan’s public choice theory. Dependency theory will be employed to examine diverse perspectives on sovereign debt management and to position the Argentine case within a global context. This study will trace the evolution of Argentina’s external debt, focusing particularly on the period from 2015 to 2023, while also exploring key milestones in the country’s debt history since 1976. The analysis will address the characteristics of debt restructuring, the various alternatives to default and the potential limitations and opportunities for economic development in peripheral countries, particularly in light of the ‘structural power of finance’. Methodologically, the research will conduct a political-economy analysis based on the concept of the regime of accumulation (Boyer), alongside core–periphery theory (Marini and Prebisch). It will also examine the specific dynamics of sovereign debt (Ross) and the ethical dimensions of debt default (Buchanan).

This article conveys the critical elements of the keynote address delivered by the author at the opening session of the Third African Conference on Debt and Development in Dakar, Senegal. It attempts to answer the question of African Debt sustainability through the lenses of dependency and underdevelopment theories based on the Centre-Periphery theory and hypothesis that unless Africa exits the dependency and underdevelopment mode in which it has been trapped since colonialism, it will remain in perpetual debt crises. Thus, delinking from institutions and processes that trap Africa in this mode is inevitable for debt sustainability and long-term broad-based development in Africa. The responsibility for generating countervailing power for transformation lies totally in the hands of Africans as our historical experience to date must suggest.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Eurozone financial crisis by discussing the experiences of Greece, Ireland and Spain. It particularly examines the influence and actions of the Troika in the management of the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Design/methodology/approach – The primary source of information for this study has been the documents of the Greek, Irish and Spanish Governments (often only available in their native language) and the reports of EU bodies and the IMF, supplemented by media coverage, as deemed appropriate. This has been analysed on a comparative basis to contrast the experiences of these three countries. Findings – This study reveals how the Eurozone crisis has impacted on financially weak countries in this currency union. The fiscal conservatism of the Troika (the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank) has had profound consequences for these economies, which have experienced dramatic cuts in public services. Research limitations/implications – This study has focused on the experiences of three countries in the Eurozone. There is a case for extending this analysis to other Eurozone countries. Practical implications – There are two approaches to recession – governments can stimulate demand by infrastructure spending or take the financial conservatism route of reducing public expenditure and public sector borrowing. However, the severity of the crisis undermines the first approach and there are uncertain outcomes with the second approach. This paper shows the effects of adopting financial conservatism as a strategy in this crisis. Social implications – The austerity programmes pursued by the governments in this study have led to unemployment, migration of skilled workers, collapse in property markets, failing banks and social unrest. Originality/value – This study takes an accounting perspective on the Eurozone crisis. This offers a distinctive interpretation of events. This study examines the merits of widely used theories in studies of public sector change namely legitimation and resource dependency theory intertwined with power and offers insights into how meaningful they are in explaining the dramatic influence of austerity programmes in the Eurozone.

This paper analyzes the performative impact of the European Commission's model for estimating 'potential output', which is used as a yardstick for measuring the 'structural budget balance' of EU countries and, hence, is crucial for coordinating European fiscal policies. In pre-crisis years, potential output estimates promoted the build-up of private debt, housing bubbles and macroeconomic imbalances. After the financial crisis, these model estimates were revised downwards, which increased fiscal consolidation pressures. By focusing on the euro area's economies during 1999-2014, we show how the model's estimates influence actual economic outcomes. We identify two major economic impacts of the potential output model. First, the political implications of the model led to pro-cyclical feedback loops, reinforcing prevailing economic developments. Second, the model has contributed to national lock-ins on path dependent debt trajectories, fueling 'structural polarization' between core and periphery countries.