As research, experience, and common sense made clear, the best way for debt-saturated poor countries to grow was frequently to secure forgiveness from creditors on a portion of their loans. For lenders, such agreements were not charity, but rather the product of a hardheaded calculation. If governments were stuck with impossible debts, they ran the risk of defaulting. If they gained relief, they could invest in infrastructure, education, health care, and other spurs to development that would allow them to earn money needed to meet their obligations.
