This paper summarizes recent developments in the Doha Round negotiations, and aid for trade. As requested by the Development Committee last September, it reviews existing mechanisms for cross-country and regional aid for trade needs. It proposes possible options to overcome the coordination and...

Immediately following the effectiveness of the decisions on the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) and the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF), debt relief totaling SDR 2.3 billion was delivered to 19 qualifying members, including 17 countries under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor...

Aid for trade can support countries trying to further benefit from the expanding global market place by helping to address poorly performing infrastructure and institutions. Needless to say, good policies also matter: trade liberalization, improving incentives for private investment in trade,...

The paper focuses on the operational implications of high and volatile aid for the design of Fund-supported programs. It provides a conceptual framework that should guide country teams in giving advice to low-income countries on a case-by-case basis, without specific quantitative performance...

This paper contains background material to the Board paper on "Aid Inflows- The Role of the Fund and Operational Issues for Program Design." The main paper draws operational implications for program design of increased and volatile aid inflows, based on selected case studies (Annex I) and a...

Sound fiscal policies are critical for handling aid volatility as well as for making effective use of scaled-up aid and other flows. By easing resource constraints, these flows allow low-income countries (LICs) to increase spending aimed at enhancing growth and reducing poverty. Effective...

This paper provides a semi-annual review of the status of financing for PRGF-ESF lending, HIPC and MDRI debt relief, and subsidization of emergency assistance to PRGF-eligible members. The last review was completed by the Executive Board on September 6, 2006

This paper provides a semi-annual review of the status of financing for Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility-Exogenous Shocks Facility (PRGF-ESF) lending, subsidization of emergency assistance to PRGF-eligible countries, and Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Multilateral Debt Relief...

At their 2005 Spring meetings, the Development Committee and IMFC called on the Bank and Fund to work with others to develop more detailed proposals, for consideration at the Annual Meetings, to help developing countries adjust to and take advantage of the Doha Round. In response, Bank and Fund...

The G-8 debt relief proposal, if adopted, should have little impact on the rational and operational aspects of the shocks window, but it may affect some of the financing consideratins, which are taken up in the page on "The G-8 Debt Cancellation Proposal and its Implications for the Fund