Policy Papers
2005
May 25, 2005
Review of the Fund's Transparency Policy
Description: This review analyzes trends in publication of IMF documents and experience with various aspects of the transparency policy since July 2003, based on: Fund-wide data on publication; records of changes made to published staff reports; a survey of mission chiefs; and ten country case studies involving interviews with staff and Executive Directors.
May 11, 2005
Post-Program Monitoring - Proposed Decision on Countries
Notes: The Proposed Decision in this document has been approved by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund.
April 12, 2005
Progress Report to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on Crisis Resolution
April 1, 2005
Report of the Independent Panel on Safeguards Assessments
Description: In its March 2002 review of the Safeguards Assessments (SA) policy, the Executive Board of the IMF indicated that an independent panel should be involved in the next review of the SA policy in early 2005. To meet this requirement, a panel of four deputy central bank governors from different regions was convened (see Attachment I). The panel was asked to determine whether safeguards assessments have been successful in meeting their stated objectives, and what, if any, improvements could be made to the safeguards policy and process going forward. The panel’s terms of reference are included as Attachment II.
April 1, 2005
AFRITACs - Independent Midterm Evaluation - Volume 1-Final Report
Description: The evaluation focus was on three main objectives: Assessing whether the AFRITACs have provided value added to beneficiary countries; Assessing the extent to which the AFRITACs’ objectives have been achieved; and Assessing whether the AFRITACs have enhanced cooperation between stakeholders in their respective regions.
April 1, 2005
Public Investment and Fiscal Policy - Lessons From the Pilot Country Studies
Description: This paper reports on findings from eight pilot country studies on public investment that were carried out during the second half of 2004. The pilot country studies covered a diverse group of countries. Specifically, they included countries in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru), Africa (Ethiopia and Ghana), the Middle East (Jordan), and Asia (India).
March 31, 2005
Safeguards Assessments - Review of Experience
Description: The safeguards assessments policy was introduced in March 2000 to provide reasonable assurance that central banks have adequate financial control systems in place to manage their resources and Fund disbursements. The safeguards policy’s main objective is to minimize the possibility of misreporting or misuse of Fund resources associated with the Fund’s lending activities. Safeguards assessments apply to all member countries that have a Fund arrangement.
March 28, 2005
Operational Framework for Debt Sustainability Assessments in Low-Income Countries - Further Considerations
Description: Building on initial discussions of the proposed framework in February/March 2004, and further considerations in September 2004, this paper responds to remaining concerns that need to be resolved to make the framework operational. These concerns relate to the indicative debt-burden thresholds (Section II); the interaction of the framework with the HIPC Initiative (Section III); and the modalities for Bank-Fund collaboration in deriving a common assessment of sustainability (Section IV). This note should be read in conjunction with the original proposal, which presented the wider issues on the use of the indicative thresholds, the evaluation of policies and institutions, and the need for discretion when assessing sustainability on a forward-looking basis.
March 23, 2005
Review of PRGF-HIPC Financing, the Adequacy of the Reserve Account of the PRGF Trust, and Subsidization of Emergency Assistance
Description: This paper focuses on immediate PRGF and HIPC financing issues and does not discuss projections of the demand for, and supply of, resources for financing PRGF operations over the medium term. The latter issue will need to be revisited in the light of discussions on proposals for further debt relief and the Fund’s future financial role in low-income countries.
Notes: The Proposed Decision in this document has been approved by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund.