Debt Relief for the Poorest : An OED Review of the HIPC Initiative

by Gautam, Madhur

• ISBN13: 9780821355213
• ISBN10: 082135521X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative was established by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 1996, in order to relieve the high external debt of some of the world's poorest nations. The initiative seeks to provide a permanent end to debt rescheduling, promote growth and release resources for social policies targeted at poverty reduction. It is an important but small part of the overall development assistance framework. The review makes four recommendations to address the strategic issues facing the initiative, including the need: to make explicit the methodology underlying the debt projections used and make economic forecasts more realistic in assessing the prospects and risks facing individual countries; and for a greater focus on pro-poor growth to better balance development priorities relative to social expenditures.

Table of Contents

Acknowlegments	vii
Foreword	ix
Foreword	ix
Prefacio	ix
Preface	xi
Prologo	xi
Executive Summary	xiii
Executive Summary	xiii
Resumo Executivo	xiii
Resume analytique	xix
Resumen	xix
Abbreviations and Acronyms	xxvii
Introduction	1	(4)
Progress and Current Status	2	(1)
Evaluation Design	3	(2)
Evolution of Debt and the Debt Problem	5	(4)
Evolution of the HIPC Debt Burden	5	(3)
The Consequences of an Excessive External Debt Burden	8	(1)
The HIPC Initiative	9	(6)
Background	9	(1)
The Political Economy of HIPC	10	(1)
The HIPC Objectives	11	(1)
The Process	11	(4)
Design of the Initiative	15	(12)
Background	15	(1)
Consistency of the Design with Overall Objectives	15	(3)
Debt Sustainability	18	(5)
Performance Criteria	23	(2)
Creditor Participation	25	(1)
Capacity Building	25	(2)
Implementation Experience	27	(10)
Pace of Implementation	27	(1)
Debt Sustainability Analysis	27	(3)
Performance Criteria	30	(4)
Creditor Participation	34	(1)
Institutional Development: Capacity Building for External Debt Management	35	(2)
Likely Outcomes---Preliminary Findings	37	(16)
Debt Sustainability	37	(5)
Progress Toward Performance Criteria	42	(4)
Incremental Resource Transfer	46	(4)
Debt Management Capacity	50	(1)
Likely Outcomes	51	(2)
Findings and Recommendations	53	(6)
Relevance	53	(2)
Efficacy and Efficiency	55	(1)
Sustainability	56	(1)
Institutional Development	56	(1)
Recommendations	57	(2)
Annexes	59	(40)
HIPC Initiative: Status of Country Cases Considered under the Initiative, July 2002	61	(2)
The Objectives and Guiding Principles for the HIPC Initiative	63	(2)
HIPC Debt Initiative: Flow Chart	65	(2)
Evaluation Approach	67	(2)
Change in Net Transfers to HIPCs, by Source	69	(2)
How Does a Large Debt Stock Affect Economic Performance?	71	(2)
Debtor Country Perspectives on the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative	73	(4)
Creditor Country Perspectives on the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative	77	(4)
Synthesis of Main Findings from Case Studies	81	(6)
Constraints to Growth as Identified by OED Country Assistance Evaluations	87	(2)
Management Response	89	(6)
Chairman's Summary: Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE)	95	(4)
Endnotes	99	(6)
References	105