http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/22850/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22289/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z In 1997, Guyana started to receive debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. In 2001, to qualify for the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, Guyana developed a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) that committed the country to a reorientation of its economic and social policies towards the objectives of the PRS and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Against this background, this article examines whether the HIPC initiatives and the accompanying PRS have translated into increases in the level and quality of social expenditure. We find that there has been a substantial increase in social spending since 1997. In terms of quality of expenditure, our analysis suggests that without further strengthening of institutions responsible for managing and monitoring public expenditure, debt relief is unlikely to provide more than temporary succour. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19095/ 2001-08-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19063/ 2000-06-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19071/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21558/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD has set target rates of poverty incidence and levels of a number of human development indicators as goals to be met with the aid of development assistance by the years 2005 and 2015. In this paper we assess the likelihood that these goals will be met. We estimate future levels of poverty and human development indicators, using econometric models that capture the past relationship between per capita economic growth and both poverty and human development indicators. Our models use existing projections of future economic growth for the world's major developing regions. We find that for some developing regions achievement of the DAC poverty targets depends critically on the pattern as well as the rate of growth, as targets are only met when high or medium levels of income equality accompany growth. The prospects for achieving the human development targets, particularly gender equity ones, are good for most regions. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18998/ 1997-08-01T00:00:00Z