Debt Relief Initiatives: HIPC and MDRI

This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the impact of debt relief initiatives on development outcomes.

HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) and MDRI (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) “remain the largest and most comprehensive debt relief efforts ever launched for low-income countries” (Zhou, 2021, p. 224).

This review gathers literature from academic and grey sources (such as the Decision Point Review Reports by IMF) post 2014. The review draws evidence relating to the impact and effectiveness of the HIPC and the MDRI on development outcomes prioritising low-income and low-middle-income countries, predominantly covering Sub-Saharan Africa.

Most studies included in this review emphasise on quantitative metrics of development outcomes in education, fiscal space, and poverty reduction, with a notable lack of qualitative research exploring institutional transformations and long-term economic impacts.