Negotiating Debt Reduction in the HIPC Initiative and Beyond PDF Download

Author: Coumba Fall Gueye
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781903971437
Category : Debts, External
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Author: Nancy Birdsall
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In 1999, the United States and other major donor countries supported an historic expansion of the heavily indebted poor country (HIPC) debt relief initiative. HIPC had two primary goals: reduce poor countries' debt burdens to levels that would allow them to achieve sustainable growth; and promote a new way of assisting poor countries focused on home-grown poverty alleviation and human development. Three years after the initiative came into existence, we are beginning to see the apparent impact that HIPC is having, particularly on recipient countries' ability and willingness to increase domestic spending on education and HIV/AIDS programs. Yet it has also become clear that the HIPC program is not providing a sufficient level of predictability or sustainability to allow debtor countries (and donors) to reap the larger benefits, particularly in terms of sustained growth and poverty reduction, originally envisioned. An adequate amount of predictable debt relief can be an extremely efficient way of transferring resources to poor countries with reasonable economic management (indeed, more effective than traditional aid). But the full benefits of the transfer, in improved capacity to manage their economies, and in increased investor confidence in an economy's future, require that creditors, investors and committed recipient government officials have confidence that the improved debt situation will be sustained over the medium term. After reviewing some of the main critiques and proposals for change, we offer here a new way forward - a proposal to deepen, widen, and most importantly insure debt relief to poor countries. We focus on the insurance aspect of our proposal, that would safeguard countries against external shocks for a decade, and on the advantages of financing such insurance by limited mobilization of IMF gold. We see this proposal as a practical way to make debt relief more predictably sustainable in HIPC countries, and a proposal around which international donors could consolidate their efforts in the near term.

Author: Ms.Christina Daseking
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451856237
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
The low-income country debt crisis had its origins in weak macroeconomic policies, and official creditors’ willingness to take risks unacceptable to private lenders. Payments problems were initially addressed through nonconcessional reschedulings and new lending that maximized financing while containing the budgetary costs for creditors. This led to an unsustainable buildup in debt stocks. More recently, debt ratios have improved, reflecting both adjustment and substantial debt relief. The paper estimates debt relief initiatives since 1988 have cost creditors at least $30 billion, and possibly much more. This compares with the estimated costs of about $27 billion under the enhanced HIPC Initiative.

Author: Marco Arnone
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317154142
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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This book deals with the recent debt crises in developing countries and analyzes the design and implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, by providing background concepts, pointing out the main drawbacks and suggesting a different approach to debt sustainability and debt relief programs. The authors merge academic, operational and institutional expertise, in order to provide an evaluation as complete and balanced as possible on the much-debated effectiveness of debt relief in fostering economic growth, reducing poverty and reaching debt sustainability. Marco Arnone and Andrea F. Presbitero assess the joint evolution of external and domestic public debt and produce original empirical evidence on the potential effects of public debt on investment, economic growth and institution-building in low- and middle-income countries. The book also explores relevant and up-to-date policy issues, such as the loans-grants mix and the development of responsible lending strategies in foreign assistance, the surge of non-concessional and domestic borrowing by low-income countries, and the impact of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis on debt sustainability.

Author: African Development Bank
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199565775
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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The African Development Bank commissioned four case studies on Debt Relief Initiatives, Development Assistance and Service Delivery in Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda from the last quarter of 2006 to mid 2007. The objective of the study was to appraise the extent to which debt relief resources are being used to improve social service delivery. There is strong agreement from all four case studies that debt relief created flexibility in governments spending by playing the role of flexible and predictable budget support. In this context, governments acquired more degrees of freedom to allocate debt relief resources in line with their own objectives. In all four countries debt relief resources were more easily transformed into MDG-related spending than tied aid. The case studies had a consensus in identifying the accountability of public institutions to civil society, through community monitoring or execution of expenditures, as the most effective means of enhancing spending effectiveness. This formed the basis for the success observed in program implementation. From the findings of the case studies it is clear that debt relief can lead to enhanced service delivery provided certain conditions prevail. These conditions can be influenced by donors as well as the willingness of beneficiary governments to undertake reforms. The general observation across the case studies is that debt relief has a major positive impact on service delivery, and progress towards the MDGs, when beneficiaries: (i) have high capacity in MDG spending, (ii) are highly accountable, and (iii) receive stable and high-quality aid.

Author: Jürgen Kaiser
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783868724776
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Author: Nancy Birdsall
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0881324450
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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This study brings readers up to date on the complicated and controversial subject of debt relief for the poorest countries of the world. What has actually been achieved? Has debt relief provided truly additional resources to fight poverty? How will the design and timing of the "enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative" affect the development prospects of the world's poorest countries and their people? The study then moves on to address several broader policy questions: Is debt relief a step toward more efficient and equitable government spending, building better institutions, and attracting productive private investment in the poorest countries? Who pays for debt relief? Is there a case for further relief? Most important, how can the case for debt relief be sustained in a broader effort to combat poverty in the poorest countries?

Author: M. Ayhan Kose
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464815453
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
The global economy has experienced four waves of rapid debt accumulation over the past 50 years. The first three debt waves ended with financial crises in many emerging market and developing economies. During the current wave, which started in 2010, the increase in debt in these economies has already been larger, faster, and broader-based than in the previous three waves. Current low interest rates mitigate some of the risks associated with high debt. However, emerging market and developing economies are also confronted by weak growth prospects, mounting vulnerabilities, and elevated global risks. A menu of policy options is available to reduce the likelihood that the current debt wave will end in crisis and, if crises do take place, will alleviate their impact.

Author: Mr.Udaibir S. Das
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475505531
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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This paper provides a comprehensive survey of pertinent issues on sovereign debt restructurings, based on a newly constructed database. This is the first complete dataset of sovereign restructuring cases, covering the six decades from 1950–2010; it includes 186 debt exchanges with foreign banks and bondholders, and 447 bilateral debt agreements with the Paris Club. We present new stylized facts on the outcome and process of debt restructurings, including on the size of haircuts, creditor participation, and legal aspects. In addition, the paper summarizes the relevant empirical literature, analyzes recent restructuring episodes, and discusses ongoing debates on crisis resolution mechanisms, credit default swaps, and the role of collective action clauses.

Author: Devi Sookun
Publisher: Commonwealth Secretariat
ISBN: 9781849290081
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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This handbook distils the key lessons on best practice in negotiating loan agreements, and responding to the activities of vulture funds - funds that buy up the debt of sovereign countries at a discount in the hope of making significant profit - for the benefit of all government officials who may have to deal with these issues.