tries creates problems associated with economic stabilization in the best of times. In times of unusual and unexpected shocks, the debt load may become unsustainable within original conditionality frameworks (Pang, 1989, pp. 139 140).
In order to assess the implications of the external debt, it is necessary to relate the debt to other macroeconomic measures, the most relevant of which are gross domestic product (GDP) and net exports. Brazil's external debt is equal to 49 percent of GDP, while the Argentinean ratio is 74.2 percent. Some developing countries import more than they export, and, thus, have little hope of ever reducing their external debt. Brazil and Argentina are not among these unfortunate countries, and for these countries, external debt may be expressed as a percentage of net exports (exports minus imports). For Brazil, this percentage is 861.3 percent, and for Argentina, the percentages is 1077.8 percent. The only hope that these countries have of reducing external debt levels by any signif
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