Agenda

Program

B-Span Link

Session 1 - Debt Relief to Low-Income Countries in Retrospect
The instruments employed by the international community to provide debt relief to Low-Income Countries (LICs) have evolved over the years.  The amount of debt relief has increased and the scope of related initiatives was expanded, not only addressing the reduction of financial obligations, but also becoming an important instrument in the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  This session intends to discuss to what extent debt relief to LICs has met its objectives.

Reports

1. Debt Relief to Low-Income Countries – A Retrospective (Summary)
2. Debt Relief and Education in HIPCs (Summary) (Report)
3. Is Debt Relief Good for the Poor?  The Effects of the HIPC Initiative on Infant Mortality (Summary)

Session 2 - Acces to Finance - Before and After HIPC
Helping LICs access more financial resources (from both the official and private sectors) was one of the main rationales of debt reduction initiatives before the HIPC Initiative.  This session focuses on the connections between HIPC debt relief and overall official transfers, and the access to capital markets of LICs that have benefited from HIPC debt relief.

Reports

1. Debt Relief and Sustainable Financing to Meet the MDGs (Summary) (Report)
2. Strategic Considerations for First-Time Sovereign Bond Issuers (Summary)

Session 3 - Debt Sustainability
Debt sustainability analysis has become an increasingly important tool for LICs, not only monitoring their debt situation, but also determining the terms of financing provided by major creditors.  Still, important challenges remain in assessing the link between debt and growth.

Reports

1. Debt Sustainability in Low-Income Countries - Recent Experience and Challenges Ahead (Summary) (Report)
2. Debt Swap Mechanisms Revisited: Lessons from the Chilean Experience of the 1980s (Summary) (Report)
3. Lessons from MACs on Public Debt Sustainability and Growth (Summary) (Report)
4. Managing Volatility: Fiscal Policy, Debt Management and Oil Revenues in the Republic of Congo (Summary) (Report)

Session 4 - Responsible Lending
The last years have seen an increasing interest in the definition and implementation of principles of responsible lending as expressed in the G8’s Responsible Lending Charter, the Equator Principles and Eurodad’s Charter on Responsible Financing.  This session intends to discuss the responsible lending agenda and the related debate on “illegitimate debt” and to explore possible avenues for future research in this area.

Reports

1. "Odious Debt" as a Principal-Agent Problem (Summary)
2. The Economics of Odious Debt (Summary) (Report)

Session 5 - Debt Relief in Fragile States
Despite major efforts by the international community, debt relief has not been delivered to all eligible HIPCs.  Challenges in these remaining HIPCs are substantial.  This session looks at how to assist these fragile states, drawing lessons from past HIPC experiences.

Report

1. Drivers of Growth in Fragile States: Has the HIPC Process Helped Countries Grow? (Summary) (Report)

Session 6 - Debt Management
Debt relief from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) has significantly reduced the debt burden in many LICs.  This has opened new opportunities to access non-traditional sources of financing.  New sources of finance in turn have reinforced the need for effective public debt management, especially in LICs often lacking a coherent framework to fully assess the related costs and risks of new financing.  What needs to be done to put such a framework in place so that LICs ‘avoid expensive mistakes’ as they tap these new sources of finance?  This session will explore approaches to improve debt management in LICs, including enhancing cooperation among current providers of technical assistance in this area.

Reports

1. Government Debt Management in Low-Income Countries (Summary)
2. What Can LICs Learn from MICs? (Summary)
3. Sovereign Default Risk and Private Sector Access to Capital (Summary)

Session 7 - The Road Ahead
High oil and food prices could lead in some developing countries to additional indebtedness.  Moreover, financial resources accumulated by emerging market economies with large current account surpluses and oil producers may lead to substantial capital flows to developing countries.  Going forward, this could impose additional challenges on developing countries to balance financing their development while at the same time keeping their debt at sustainable levels.  A new cycle of financial crises may not only enhance the benefits from creditor coordination, but also reopen the debate about the costs and benefits of an international bankruptcy regime.