Debt Relief for Low-Income Countries and the HIPC Initiative

Author/Editor:

Kamau Thugge ; Anthony R. Boote

Publication Date:

March 1, 1997

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

The paper describes the debt burden of low-income countries and the traditional mechanisms that have been implemented by the international community to alleviate this burden. While these mechanisms are sufficient to reduce the external debts of many heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) to sustainable levels provided these countries implement sound economic policies, they are likely insufficient for a number of countries. To deal with these cases, the World Bank and the IMF have jointly proposed and implemented the HIPC Initiative. The paper describes this Initiative and suggests that it should enable HIPCs to exit from the debt rescheduling process.

Series:

Working Paper No. 1997/024

Subject:

Asset and liability management Debt burden Debt reduction Debt relief Debt service External debt

English

Publication Date:

March 1, 1997

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451844108/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA0241997

Pages:

29

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