In this essential two-volume collection, the editors include key papers on the domestic and global challenges of WTO accession. The first volume explores the intertwined economic, legal, and political dimensions of the process. The second volume explores country case studies and sector-specific issues such as agriculture, services and intellectual property. This comprehensive anthology is an invaluable reference source for scholars and practitioners grappling with the increasing complexity of WTO accession.

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, governments worldwide undertook massive fiscal interventions to stave off what otherwise would have likely been a system-wide financial and economic meltdown. The policy responses engendered significant shifts in growth trajectories and debt sustainability outlooks of both mature and developing economies. For Low Income Countries, post-crisis debt sustainability analyses show an average deterioration of 5-7 percentage points in the present value of public debt-to-GDP ratio in 2009-10 compared with pre-crisis projections, and stay in the area of 30 per cent until 2014. Among the LICs, 40 per cent face high risk of (or are in) debt distress. In the G20 countries, government debt-to-GDP ratios are expected reach 85 per cent by 2014. The magnitude of public liabilities incurred and the uncertainty surrounding the exit from unprecedented discretionary fiscal stimulus have become a major source of concern about a future crisis. Will the current stringent financial conditions lead to a wave of sovereign debt problems around the world? Or will countries, given their stronger fundamentals compared with previous crises' episodes, successfully muddle through the crisis? The objective of the book is to present and discuss policy-relevant research on the current debt challenges which developing, emerging market, and developed economies face. Its value added lies in the integrated approach of drawing on theoretical research and evidence from practitioners' experience in developing, emerging market, and developed countries. The study is partially funded by the Debt Management Facility for Low-Income Countries. Contributors involve World Bank staff, other international and multilateral institutions, external researchers.

The history of debt relief goes back several decades. It reveals that a country s accumulation of unsustainable debt stems from such factors as deficiencies in macroeconomic management, adverse terms-of-trade shocks, and poor governance. Debt-relief initiatives have provided debt-burdened countries with the opportunity for a fresh start, but whether the benefits of debt relief can be preserved depends on transformations in a country s policies and institutions. In 1996, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was launched as the first comprehensive, multilateral, debt-relief framework for low-income countries. In 2005, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative was established, which increased the level of debt relief provided to HIPCs. As of early 2009, assistance through these two initiatives had been committed to 35 countries and amounted to US$117 billion in nominal terms, or half of the 2007 GDP of these countries. 'Debt Relief and Beyond' assesses the implications of debt relief for low-income countries and how its benefits can be preserved and used to fight poverty. The chapter authors bring unique operational experience to their examination of debt relief, debt sustainability, and debt management. Several key questions are addressed, including, what consequences does debt relief have for poverty-reducing expenditures, growth, and access to finance? Can debt relief guarantee debt sustainability? How can debt management at all levels of government be improved? What lessons can be learned from countries that have experienced debt restructuring? Finally, this book provides sound empirical evidence using current econometric techniques."