Developing countries rely on short-term trade credits for imports of several essential consumer goods, including medicines and basic food supplies. The credits also facilitate export-related transactions. The mechanisms commercial banks use to provide trade credits to developing countries are...

Since 1994, the World Bank has provided partial credit guarantees to private financiers of several large infrastructure projects in developing countries. A major objective of the partial guarantee program is to leverage Bank resources so as to provide developing countries with better private...

One rationale for debt reduction operations under the Brady Plan has been, by alleviating the debt overhang, to improve investment efficiency. Brady-type debt and debt-service reduction (within a strong policy framework, where there is a track record of economic adjustment) has been shown to...

Enterprise reform is emerging as the core economic problem in Eastern Europe. As privatization has been delayed, a new problem has emerged, largely unanticipated by outside advisers: It is probably possible to run a clear-cut state enterprise efficiently, and it is certainly possible to get...

Since 1992, Poland has been considered a model of commercial banking reform among transition economies. Its Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Program (EBRP) tried to force state-owned commercial banks to build institutional capacity and to resolve problem loans through workouts, liquidation,...

Among transitional economies, Poland was a pioneer in bank and enterprise restructuring, tackling it through innovative pro tempore legislation which linked bank recapitalization to improvements in the bank's operating systems, aiming at increasing efficiency and loan recovery. The approach...

Both formal, and informal loans matter in agriculture. But formal lenders provide much more in production lending, than do informal lenders, often at a higher cost than what they can recover. The Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP), for example, providing about 90 percent of formal...

This comprehensive review of debt strategies includes recent debt proposals that recommend alternatives to market-based debt workouts. Proposals differ widely depending on whether they seek new lending or broad based debt relief and forgiveness. Their common, explicit aim is to reduce the...

Since the late 1970's the buildup and servicing of external debt has dominated the economic situation in many developing countries. This paper gathers some statistical evidence on the magnitude of lending and repayment and on the question of whether repayment reduces the resources available for...

The authors review the case for market-based debt reduction and concerted debt reduction. They explain the new menu-based approach to debt reduction and discuss why it may be preferred to market-based and concerted debt reduction. In a review of the five recent debt-reduction agreements, they...