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 April 13, 2007

Low-income countries (LICs) face significant challenges in meeting their development objectives while maintaining a sustainable debt position. The international community's main answer to this dilemma has been to promote recourse to concessional external resources. The Fund's recommendations to...

This paper assesses the adequacy of the Fund's facilities and financing framework for low-income countries (LICs) and proposes reform options. It is part of a broader review of all Fund financial instruments and is timely given the pressure the current global financial crisis is putting on LICs....

We cannot allow the return of economic stability to signify a return to "business as usual" for the IMF. The crisis exposed huge cracks in the international financial architecture of which the Fund is a key part. We have an historic responsibility to fix them. I urge all of us to recommit to...

This report provides an update on the status of implementation, impact and costs of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). With a view to the upcoming Financing for Development meetings in Doha, the report not only reports...

This paper provides a semi-annual review of the status of financing for PRGFESF lending, HIPC and MDRI debt relief, and an update on the mobilization of resources for the subsidization of emergency assistance to PRGF-eligible countries. The last review was completed by the Executive Board on...

This short paper informs the Executive Board of staff's assessment of macroeconomic and public financial management capacity (henceforth 'capacity') in PRGT-eligible countries (henceforth 'low-income countries') with Fund-supported programs for the purpose of setting debt limits. Capacity plays...

The paper examines the case for contingent financial instruments for low-income countries (LICs), from both the market and official sector. These include commodity price hedging instruments, contingent debt instruments (commodity-linked bonds, deferred repayment loans), and natural disaster...

This paper reviews past trends in public pension spending and provides projections for 27 advanced and 25 emerging economies over 2011-2050. In constructing these projections, the paper incorporates the impact of recent pension reforms and highlights the key assumptions underlying these...

This report aims to accomplish three objectives: (a) it provides an update on the status of implementation, impact, and costs of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI); (b) it proposes a modification of the reporting of progress...