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In the article the economic and legal problems connected with small and medium-sized commodity producers’ credit have been analyzed. It has been proved that in Ukraine, unlike foreign countries, the mechanism of easing credits remains virtually the only financial instrument aimed at developing credit relations in the agrarian sector of the economy. It is noted that in the mentioned sphere the provisions of the Ukrainian Law «On State Support to Agriculture in Ukraine» are not fully implemented. In particular, the requirements concerning the size of the credit subsidy, the possibility of obtaining compensation for long-term credits and credits received in foreign currency aren’t performed. Taking into account the aforementioned, as well as reducing the amount of financing of the corresponding state program by 4.5 times, the authors have concluded that these legislative requirements are mainly declarative. Thus, ensuring in practice the access to the cheap credit resources for small and medium-sized agricultural producers shall become one of the important tasks of the state agricultural policy.

The aim of the research is to find the solution to the problem of food security in non-food countries, i.e., countries in which conditions for agriculture are unfavorable. The authors offer the hypothesis that solution to this problem requires development of agribusiness, a perspective tool of which is concessional lending. In the process of the research, in order to verify this hypothesis, the authors use the methods of modeling of socio-economic systems, as well as systemic, problem, institutional, and SWOT-analysis. As a result of the research, the authors come to the conclusion that the most important problem of development of agribusiness in non-food countries is lack and low accessibility of financial resources, which is caused by high seasonality of business, its low profitability, and, correspondingly, its low investment attractiveness. Concessional lending allows solving this problem and increasing the accessibility of financial resources for agro-enterprises, which gives them a possibility for modernization of equipment and technology of production, reduction of product cost, and increase of profitability and competitiveness. The article views the peculiarities of crediting agricultural enterprises, determines the role of small enterprises of agribusiness, develops recommendations for provision of concessional lending for agro-enterprises, and describes the mechanism of development of agribusiness by means of concessional lending.

Abstract As governments around the world prepare to adopt a new development framework and supportive financial flows, the OECD Development Assistance Committee is exploring new ways of measuring and reporting on resource flows enabling development, including population assistance. These changes will affect the evidence base, discourse about and donor incentives related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). They may lead to: i) reduction of grant aid in favour of instruments that are less suitable for SRHR, like loans and market-like instruments; ii) expansion of the range of development stakeholders to include those with market power that can steer the discussion away from the needs of the most under-served populations; and iii) diversion of attention and resources away from SRHR. The discourse over how to provide, incentivize and report on development assistance in the new framework demonstrates the crucial relationship between knowledge, evidence, practice and power in relation to funding for SRHR in developing countries. With all that is at stake, although the OECD debate on the future of the development finance measurement system may seem highly abstract, this is a high-stakes game that SRHR advocates need to have a hand in. Those who seek to improve SRHR are well served to engage in these discussions as early and often as possible before the momentous decisions over the coming months.

Up on the 12th floor of its 19th Street Headquarters, the IMF Board sits in active session for an average of 7 hours per week. Although key matters of policy are decided on in the venue, the rules governing Boardroom interactions remain opaque, resting on an uneasy combination of consensual decision-making and weighted voting. Through a detailed analysis of IMF Board discussions surrounding the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), this article sheds light on the mechanics of power in this often overlooked venue of global economic governance. By exploring the key issues of default liability and loan conditionality, I demonstrate that whilst the Boardroom is a more active site of contestation than has hitherto been recognized, material power is a prime determinant of both Executive Directors’ preferences and outcomes reached from discussions. And as the decisions reached form the backbone of the ‘instruction sheet’ used by Fund staff to guide their everyday operational decisions, these outcomes—and the processes through which they were reached—were factors of primary importance in stabilizing the operational norms at the heart of a controversial phase in the contemporary history of IMF concessional lending.

An effective state is essential to achieving socio-economic and sustainable development. With the advent of globalization, there are growing pressures on governments and organizations around the world to be more responsive to the demands of internal and external stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency, greater development effectiveness, and delivery of tangible results. Governments, parliaments, citizens, the private sector, NGOs, civil society, international organizations and donors are among the stakeholders interested in better performance. As demands for greater accountability and real results have increased, there is an attendant need for enhanced results-based monitoring and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects. This Handbook provides a comprehensive ten-step model that will help guide development practitioners through the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. These steps begin with a “Readiness Assessment” and take the practitioner through the design, management, and importantly, the sustainability of such systems. The Handbook describes each step in detail, the tasks needed to complete each one, and the tools available to help along the way.

The document is an assessment of the impacts of a large sample of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) assisted investments, reflecting to various degrees, the actual impacts in the twenty seven countries it operated. However, these differences should not mask the reality that, relative to the investment-specific anticipated impacts, these investments generally met, or exceeded the original anticipated impacts. For regardless of some difficulties, and failures, the broad positive impact of these projects is evident. The present analysis both encompasses, and extends the analysis of 1998, and, represents a comprehensive evaluation of the development impacts of foreign direct investments, ever undertaken by an investment insurer, offering a research that explores the nexus between private investment, and development across multiple dimensions, and time. A description of MIGA's development mandate is offered, as described in the Agency's Convention and Operational Regulations, and a brief overview of MIGA's growth since inception is provided, highlighting the increasing regional, and sectoral diversification of its portfolio. A comparison of anticipated, vs. actual benefits for some quantitative indicators is provided, as well as an analysis of impacts within a multidimensional framework. Two case studies are presented, and the lessons learned lay the foundation for future work.

This article develops an analytical method and metric for evaluating the extent to which a nation’s budget support commercial debt is increased by the obligation to repay concessional project loans of the past. This is dubbed as the Peter-Paul problem. Applying it to the case of Sri Lanka and global experiences provides two kinds of insights: the hidden possibility and sources of designated project loans driving a national debt crisis, and key considerations for multilateral practices in lending to and graduating countries from concessional debt.

This paper evaluates empirically four types of cost that may result from an international sovereign default: reputational costs, international trade exclusion costs, costs to the domestic economy through the financial system, and political costs to the authorities. It finds that the economic costs are generally significant but short-lived, and sometimes do not operate through conventional channels. The political consequences of a debt crisis, by contrast, seem to be particularly dire for incumbent governments and finance ministers, broadly in line with what happens in currency crises.