Debt Relief and Beyond : Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead
Heavily indebted low-income countries benefited from significant debt relief over the past decade. Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), assistance of about $117 billion in n...
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Language: | English |
Published: |
World Bank
2012
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Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333037_20091111232053 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2681 |
Summary: | Heavily indebted low-income countries
benefited from significant debt relief over the past decade.
Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative
and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI),
assistance of about $117 billion in nominal terms had been
committed to 35 HIPC as of end-April 2009. This debt relief
represents about half of the 2007 Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of these countries, whose debt burden is expected to
drop by more than 80 percent once full debt relief is
granted. As a result of relief already provided,
debt-service payments have plummeted and expenditures on
pro-poor growth programs increased. The book is divided into
four parts. Part one examines the design of debt-relief
initiatives and provides evidence of its effect on
education, health, and economic growth. Part two describes
the risks and opportunities developing countries face
following debt relief. It identifies how they can safeguard
debt sustainability; describes the role of sovereign risk
for private sector access to capital; and draws lessons from
the experience of market-access countries on the links
between sovereign debt and development. Part three examines
the concept and various policy proposals of dealing with
'odious' debt. Part four looks at debt management,
debt restructuring, and the interplay between debt and
fiscal policies. It provides guidance on debut sovereign
bond issues; examines the issuance and management of
sub-national debt; describes the challenges of crafting
fiscal policy and managing debt and oil revenues in a
(temporarily) oil-rich country (the Republic of Congo); and
draws lessons from Chile's experiences using debt swaps
in the 1980s. |
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