Review by Choice Review
In a concise and stimulating analysis, Benoit addresses several questions bearing on interest rates for developing countries with respect to their international debt and to interest rates that prevail within these countries. On the external question, Benoit provides excellent summaries of the reasons for US interest rates since 1979, their role in the recent international debt crisis, implications for developing countries, and prospects for the debt imbroglio. On the question of internal interest rates, he discusses historical attitudes toward charging interest from the viewpoints of the major religions, considers the pros and cons of market or administered interest rates, and concludes with recommendations for developing countries in establishing interest rates that are both just and consistent with the economic demands of development. With experience in banking and financing in his native Haiti and at the UN (where he is Chief of the Fiscal and Financial Branch), Benoit presents a reasoned and careful argument for greater self-help efforts by developing countries. The book is well footnoted, with a useful bibliography and index. Upper-division and graduate collections.-P.R. Allen, University of Connecticut
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
