This new measure of national wealth could change the focus on economic wealth as a measure of development. Interestingly the rankings differ little from the GDP or HDI rankings, but it could influence future policy discussions.
"Factsheet
Debt Relief Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative
September 22, 2009
The Joint IMF-World Bank's comprehensive approach to debt reduction is
designed to ensure that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. To
date, debt reduction packages under the HIPC Initiative have been approved for
35 countries, 29 of them in Africa, providing US$51 billion in debt-service
relief over time. Five additional countries are potentially eligible for HIPC
Initiative assistance.
Debt relief key to poverty reduction
The HIPC Initiative was launched in 1996 by the IMF and World Bank, with the
aim of ensuring that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. Since
then, the international financial community, including multilateral
organizations and governments have worked together to reduce to sustainable
levels the external debt burdens of the most heavily indebted poor
countries.
In 1999, a comprehensive review of the Initiative allowed the Fund to provide
faster, deeper, and broader debt relief and strengthened the links between debt
relief, poverty reduction, and social policies.
In 2005, to help accelerate progress toward the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)
, the HIPC Initiative was supplemented by the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative
(MDRI)
. The MDRI allows for 100 percent relief on eligible debts by three
multilateral institutions-the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development
Fund (AfDF)-for countries completing the HIPC Initiative process. In 2007, the
Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB) also decided to provide additional
("beyond HIPC") debt relief to the five HIPCs in the Western Hemisphere.
Two step process
Countries must meet certain criteria, commit to poverty reduction through
policy changes and demonstrate a good track-record over time. The Fund and Bank
provide interim debt relief in the initial st
Sep 28th 2011, 13:54 by The Economist online The economic impact of demographics in Asia INVESTORS are often lured to countries like India and Vietnam by their demographic promise-by their fast-growing population of workers and consumers. Likewise, investors in China often worry that it "will grow old before it grows rich".
Great article by two UN staff that actually write the HDI reports on some methodology. Quick, easy, and interesting read about the flaws of the data. Great "peak behind the curtain"