Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-150) and index.

Group A versus Group B -- Expanding Debt Relief -- Reinventing the Aid Architecture -- Ten Questions about Debt and Debt Relief -- The HIPC Initiative: Background and Critiques -- The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries -- Recent Debt Relief Initiatives -- The Enhanced HIPC Framework -- Critiques of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative -- The Case for More -- Debt Sustainability -- The Millennium Development Goals -- What Form of More? -- Political Resonance -- Additionality -- Redistribution -- Efficiency -- Country Selectivity -- Deepening and Extending Debt Reduction -- Deeper Relief -- Making More Countries Eligible -- A Contingency Facility -- Financing More Debt Relief -- A New Aid Architecture -- The HIPC Procedure -- Grants, Not Just Loans -- Incremental Proposals to Increase Donor Accountability -- Donor Incentives for Selectivity -- Exploiting Multilateralism: The Common Pool -- Sovereign Debt: Building on the HIPC Initiative -- Whether to Extend More Debt Relief -- How to Extend the HIPC Initiative -- Cost of the Extensions -- Toward a New Aid Architecture -- Multilateral Institutions Participating in the HIPC Initiative -- Countries Classified by Income -- Odious Debt -- Resource flows to HIPCs and all developing countries, 1980-99 -- Growth in HIPCs and other developing countries, 1980-99 -- Heavily indebted poor countries -- Debt statistics for HIPC countries -- Project versus nonproject activity: Commitments of bilateral ODA to the HIPCs, 1973-99 -- Additional reduction needed for post-decision point HIPCs that are above the 2 percent threshold -- Cost to bring all non-decision point HIPCs below the 2 percent debt-to-GNP threshold -- Cost of Eurodad proposal for limiting debt service -- Debt indicators for potential HIPCs, 1999 -- Debt statistics for other low-income countries, 1999 -- Cost to bring all low-income countries below the 2 percent threshold for debt service to GNP and 150 percent threshold for debt to exports -- Hypothetical cost of contingency procedure -- Continued aid dependence of post-completion point HIPCs -- Odious debt: Commitments to countries considered "Not Free" and "Corrupt" -- Resource flows and other indicators for the Democratic Republic of Congo, 1970-99 -- Resource flows and other indicators for Kenya, 1970-99 -- Resource flows and other indicators for Nicaragua, 1970-99 -- Military and social spending by Nicaragua, 1979-99 -- Resource flows and other indicators for Pakistan, 1970-99 -- Resource flows and other indicators for Uganda, 1970-99 -- ODA loans to sub-Saharan Africa, 1970-99 -- World Bank and IMF loan disbursements to low-income countries, 1970-99 -- Debt ratios of HIPCs and other developing countries -- Evolution of ODA disbursements from EU countries, 1980-99 -- Breakdown of debt by creditor, nominal debt stock, 1999 -- Realized and projected annual growth rates, 1980-2015 -- Ratio of NPV of debt-to-export for HIPCs at the decision point, projections, and past export trends -- "Group of Eight" by Dan Wasserman -- Aid to low-income countries in per capita terms, 1990-99 -- The increasing aid coordination challenge -- Aid and debt, sub-Saharan Africa, 1977-87 and 1988-98 -- Cost estimates to public sector -- Authors' proposals -- The enhanced HIPC Initiative -- A short history of sovereign lending and default -- Debt initiatives -- The annual cost of achieving the Millennium Development Goals -- Aid accounting and debt relief -- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration -- The IMF's future role in development -- Aid does work--if... -- The PRSP challenge: Avoiding business as usual -- Assessing country performance: Selectivity using what measures?.

This study brings readers up to date on the complicated subject of debt relief for poor countries. It also addresses the questions of more efficient and equitable government spending, building better institutions and attracting productive private investment.