The review of the ESF is being accelerated in light of experience and worsening global economic conditions, in particular the surge in food and fuel prices. Despite having become effective in 2006, the ESF has yet to be used. Recent discussions with creditors, donors, potential users, and outside observers have highlighted a number of ways to enhance its effectiveness.

The review of the ESF is being accelerated in light of experience and worsening global economic conditions, in particular the surge in food and fuel prices. Despite having become effective in 2006, the ESF has yet to be used. Recent discussions with creditors, donors, potential users, and outside observers have highlighted a number of ways to enhance its effectiveness.

"The review of the ESF is being accelerated in light of experience and worsening global economic conditions, in particular the surge in food and fuel prices. Despite having become effective in 2006, the ESF has yet to be used. Recent discussions with creditors, donors, potential users, and outside observers have highlighted a number of ways to enhance its effectiveness."--IMF information page summary.

At the recent Board discussion on strengthening the Fund's assistance to low-income countries dealing with sudden and exogenous shocks, most Directors supported the establishment of an Exogenous Shocks Facility within the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Trust. In an earlier discussion, Directors noted that exogenous shocks could have significant negative impacts on developing countries' growth, macroeconomic stability, debt sustainability, and poverty, and that low-income countries are particularly vulnerable to shocks due to lack of diversification, limited capacity to build up reserves, and prohibitively expensive or unavailable market insurance. The international community can supplement national efforts for reducing vulnerability to shocks. Recent research shows that foreign assistance can be unusually effective in the aftermath of a shock. Such assistance needs to be available quickly, and it needs to be associated with sound adjustment policies and measures to reduce vulnerability to future shocks.

The paper proposes a doubling of access limits on concessional lending to ensure that the Fund can respond effectively to the needs of low-income countries (LICs) severely affected by the current world economic downturn. Pending adoption of broader reforms to the LIC facilities architecture, higher access limits under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Exogenous Shocks Facility-High-Access Component (ESF-HAC) would give the Fund greater flexibility in assisting LICs, which have become more exposed to global volatility over time. A doubling of access limits would restore them to their 1998 levels in percent of GDP and would be consistent with the approach taken in determining new access limits for General Resources Account (GRA) resources. It would also be in line with the projected doubling of medium-term demand for concessional resources.

The ESF, established within the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and Exogenous Shocks Facility (PRGF-ESF) Trust, complements existing Fund instruments for providing timely support, including financing at more appropriate terms, to low-income members that are facing sudden and exogenous shocks but do not have a PRGF arrangement in place. In particular, the ESF: (i) facilitates quick access to more concessional financing than the Fund’s Emergency Assistance and the Compensatory Financing Facility (CFF);1 (ii) helps members design and implement a policy framework adequate for adjustment to shocks while ensuring adequate safeguards for the use of the Trust resources; and (iii) plays a catalytic role for further and more concessional donor financing.

The paper proposes a doubling of access limits on concessional lending to ensure that the Fund can respond effectively to the needs of low-income countries (LICs) severely affected by the current world economic downturn. Pending adoption of broader reforms to the LIC facilities architecture, higher access limits under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Exogenous Shocks Facility-High-Access Component (ESF-HAC) would give the Fund greater flexibility in assisting LICs, which have become more exposed to global volatility over time. A doubling of access limits would restore them to their 1998 levels in percent of GDP and would be consistent with the approach taken in determining new access limits for General Resources Account (GRA) resources. It would also be in line with the projected doubling of medium-term demand for concessional resources.

From one of the leading policy experts of our time, an urgent rethinking of how we can better support each other to thrive Whether we realize it or not, all of us participate in the social contract every day through mutual obligations among our family, community, place of work, and fellow citizens. Caring for others, paying taxes, and benefiting from public services define the social contract that supports and binds us together as a society. Today, however, our social contract has been broken by changing gender roles, technology, new models of work, aging, and the perils of climate change. Minouche Shafik takes us through stages of life we all experience—raising children, getting educated, falling ill, working, growing old—and shows how a reordering of our societies is possible. Drawing on evidence and examples from around the world, she shows how every country can provide citizens with the basics to have a decent life and be able to contribute to society. But we owe each other more than this. A more generous and inclusive society would also share more risks collectively and ask everyone to contribute for as long as they can so that everyone can fulfill their potential. What We Owe Each Other identifies the key elements of a better social contract that recognizes our interdependencies, supports and invests more in each other, and expects more of individuals in return. Powerful, hopeful, and thought-provoking, What We Owe Each Other provides practical solutions to current challenges and demonstrates how we can build a better society—together.

This paper assesses the adequacy of the Fund’s facilities and financing framework for low-income countries (LICs) and proposes reform options. It is part of a broader review of all Fund financial instruments and is timely given the pressure the current global financial crisis is putting on LICs. It builds on previous efforts to adapt the Fund’s toolkit to the evolving needs of its LIC members, including creation of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) and the recent modification of the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF). This paper provides the basis for the first stage of the LIC-specific review, with a focus on: (i) gaps and overlaps in the facility architecture for LICs, (ii) design issues such as access, financing terms, and conditionality, and (iii) the concessional resource envelope and funding structure. Based on feedback from Executive Directors and further external consultation, more detailed reform proposals will be prepared in the second stage of the review. The Fund’s Facilities and Financing Framework for Low-Income Countries—Supplementary Information March 13, 2009

A recovery is underway, but the economic fallout from the global pandemic could be with us for years to come. With the crisis exacerbating prepandemic vulnerabilities, country prospects are diverging. Nearly half of emerging market and developing economies and some middle-income countries are now at risk of falling further behind, undoing much of the progress made toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.