The Impact of External Debt on Human Capital Development and GDP Growth in HIPCs: a Comprehensive Approach

Abstract

The growth theorists argue that human capital development/accumulation (HCD/A) is vital for economic growth. However, the level of external debt accumulation determines HCA and its effect on economic growth. Besides, the impact of external debt on growth is still debatable. Further, the external debt-growth relationship could be non-linear instead of linear, and external debt can affect growth through the HCD channel. Therefore, this study aims to look at the impact of foreign debt on HCD and growth in heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) employing seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) and other alternative simultaneous equations models (SEMs) from 1990–2017. The result indicates the link between foreign debt and HCD is negative and non-linear, but only non-linearity is observed between foreign debt and growth. Besides, external debt affects HIPCs growth through the HCD channel. Therefore, the study recommends essentializing solid macroeconomic policies, strengthening institutional performance, appropriate debt management strategies, and investing borrowed funds in productive projects.