Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries

This study examines external debt threshold levels in a huge sample of developing world during the years 1991 to 2020. Methodologically, dynamic panel threshold model is employed for digging out the endogeneity problem. Using yearly data, we confirm the general consensus that external debt negativel...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Naveed Khan, Shamsher Ali, Syed Sadaqat Ali Shah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-08-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251361980
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849340491529715712
author Naveed Khan
Shamsher Ali
Syed Sadaqat Ali Shah
author_facet Naveed Khan
Shamsher Ali
Syed Sadaqat Ali Shah
author_sort Naveed Khan
collection DOAJ
description This study examines external debt threshold levels in a huge sample of developing world during the years 1991 to 2020. Methodologically, dynamic panel threshold model is employed for digging out the endogeneity problem. Using yearly data, we confirm the general consensus that external debt negatively affects output growth when it reaches or is above certain threshold level. In particular, we find total external debt threshold at 90% and long-term external debt threshold at 50.53%, respectively. Furthermore, we find that external debt thresholds evolve over each decade; 1991 to 2000; 2001 to 2010 and 2011 to 2020, respectively. One notable finding is that total external debt threshold levels have declined over the three decades from as high as 92% in 1990s to 54.6% during 2001 to 2010 and 47.8% during 2011 to 2020. Similarly, the long-term threshold levels declined from as high as 83% in 1990s to 23.6% during 2001 to 2010, although it increased slightly to 27% during 2011 to 2020, respectively. To prudent public debt management, our findings suggest fundamental policies for developing countries. JEL Classification: H63, C24, O40, C23.
format Article
id doaj-art-b98d9632c7624fc892ba5c06eddeb8a6
institution Kabale University
issn 2158-2440
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series SAGE Open
spelling doaj-art-b98d9632c7624fc892ba5c06eddeb8a62025-08-20T03:43:54ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402025-08-011510.1177/21582440251361980Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing CountriesNaveed Khan0Shamsher Ali1Syed Sadaqat Ali Shah2Shandong University, Weihai, P.R. ChinaGovernment College of Management Sciences, Higher Education Archives Libraries Department, Peshawar, PakistanBeijing International Studies University, P.R. ChinaThis study examines external debt threshold levels in a huge sample of developing world during the years 1991 to 2020. Methodologically, dynamic panel threshold model is employed for digging out the endogeneity problem. Using yearly data, we confirm the general consensus that external debt negatively affects output growth when it reaches or is above certain threshold level. In particular, we find total external debt threshold at 90% and long-term external debt threshold at 50.53%, respectively. Furthermore, we find that external debt thresholds evolve over each decade; 1991 to 2000; 2001 to 2010 and 2011 to 2020, respectively. One notable finding is that total external debt threshold levels have declined over the three decades from as high as 92% in 1990s to 54.6% during 2001 to 2010 and 47.8% during 2011 to 2020. Similarly, the long-term threshold levels declined from as high as 83% in 1990s to 23.6% during 2001 to 2010, although it increased slightly to 27% during 2011 to 2020, respectively. To prudent public debt management, our findings suggest fundamental policies for developing countries. JEL Classification: H63, C24, O40, C23.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251361980
spellingShingle Naveed Khan
Shamsher Ali
Syed Sadaqat Ali Shah
Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries
SAGE Open
title Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries
title_full Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries
title_fullStr Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries
title_full_unstemmed Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries
title_short Testing Threshold Effects of External Debt: Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries
title_sort testing threshold effects of external debt empirical evidence from developing countries
url https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251361980
work_keys_str_mv AT naveedkhan testingthresholdeffectsofexternaldebtempiricalevidencefromdevelopingcountries
AT shamsherali testingthresholdeffectsofexternaldebtempiricalevidencefromdevelopingcountries
AT syedsadaqatalishah testingthresholdeffectsofexternaldebtempiricalevidencefromdevelopingcountries