What determines external debt tipping points?

This paper is interested in the nexus between external debt and export competiveness. Specifically, while we find that once external debt exceeds a certain threshold it is negatively associated with export growth, we are interested in determining whether the tipping points vary based on country characteristics. We test various hypotheses, including extent of exchange rate flexibility, size of foreign exchange reserve holdings, bond market development, degree of banking sector concentration and history of financial crises.