Operations Evaluation Department2014-09-172014-09-172004-07-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20216The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank introduced the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process in 1999 to strengthen the poverty alleviation focus of their assistance to low-income countries. This report reviews Nicaragua s experience with the PRSP process, focusing on the effectiveness of IMF and World Bank support to the process and the extent to which the two institutions lending and non-lending activities in the country are aligned to the objectives of the PRSP approach. The report is structured as follows: section B provides background on poverty, the political and economic context, and history of national strategies in Nicaragua. Section C analyzes the PRSP process focusing on application of underlying principles, including through formulation and implementation processes. Section D evaluates the support of the IMF through the PRGF. Section E assesses the support of the World Bank to the PRSP process. Section V summarizes the main findings and attempts to draw lessons for the PRSP process and for Bank and Fund operations.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYADJUSTMENT LENDINGAGRICULTURAL EXPORTSAGRICULTURAL OUTPUTAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSAGRICULTURAL SECTORAID DEPENDENCEANTICORRUPTIONANTICORRUPTION AGENDAANTICORRUPTION EFFORTSBANKING CRISISBANKSCHILD MORTALITYCHRONIC MALNUTRITIONCITIZENSCIVIL SOCIETYCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONSCOLLAPSECONFIDENCECONSULTATION PROCESSCONSULTATIVE PROCESSCORRUPTIONCOUNTRY CASECRISESDATA COLLECTIONDEBT RELIEFDEMOCRACYDEVELOPMENT GOALSDEVELOPMENT INDICATORSDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESDEVELOPMENT STRATEGYDISADVANTAGED GROUPSDROUGHTECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC CONDITIONSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC POLICYEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTENFORCEABILITYEQUAL DISTRIBUTIONEXTERNAL FACTORSEXTERNAL SHOCKSEXTREME POVERTYEXTREME POVERTY LINEFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL SECTORFOREIGN AIDGENDER BIASGOOD GOVERNANCEGOVERNANCE INDICATORGOVERNANCE INDICATORSGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNANCE PROBLEMSGOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESSGOVERNMENT OFFICIALSGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESHEALTH SERVICESHIGH CONCENTRATIONHIGH GROWTHHIGH RATE OF POPULATION GROWTHHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RIGHTSIMPROVING GOVERNANCEINCIDENCE OF POVERTYINCOME GROWTHINEQUALITYINFANT MORTALITYINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTINITIATIVEINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITYINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINVESTMENT CLIMATEJUDICIAL SYSTEMJUDICIAL SYSTEMSJUDICIARYLACK OF INFORMATIONLAND TENURE INSECURITYLAWSLEADERSHIPLEGAL INITIATIVESLITERACY RATESLIVING STANDARDSLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTMACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORKMACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENTMACROECONOMIC POLICIESMACROECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMACROECONOMIC STABILIZATIONMARKET ECONOMYMEDIUM TERMMILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALSMINISTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTSNATIONAL COUNCILNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTNATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL STRATEGIESNATIONAL STRATEGYPARTICIPATORY PROCESSPARTICIPATORY PROCESSESPATRONAGEPERFORMANCE CRITERIAPOLICY ALTERNATIVESPOLICY DEBATEPOLICY FORMULATIONPOLICY FRAMEWORKPOLICY OPTIONSPOLICY PROCESSPOLICY PROCESSESPOLITICAL CONSIDERATIONSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL FEASIBILITYPOLITICAL INSTABILITYPOLITICAL PARTIESPOLITICAL STABILITYPOLITICAL SYSTEMPOORPOOR AREASPOOR COUNTRIESPOOR PEOPLEPOOR POPULATIONPOVERTY ALLEVIATIONPOVERTY ASSESSMENTPOVERTY ASSESSMENTSPOVERTY INCIDENCEPOVERTY INDICATORSPOVERTY LINEPOVERTY LINESPOVERTY MAPPOVERTY PROFILEPOVERTY REDUCINGPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY REDUCTION EFFORTSPOVERTY REDUCTION POLICIESPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGYPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPERPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPERSPRICE STABILITYPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVESPRO-POORPROGRESSPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC DEBATEPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC INFRASTRUCTUREPUBLIC INSTITUTIONSPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC POLICIESPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR REFORMPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SPENDINGREFORM EFFORTSREGULATORY QUALITYRELATIVE IMPORTANCERESOURCE ALLOCATIONRULE OF LAWRULING PARTYRURALRURAL ACTIVITIESRURAL AREASRURAL DEVELOPMENTRURAL INCOMERURAL PHENOMENONRURAL POORRURAL POPULATIONRURAL POVERTYSAFETY NETSAFETY NETSSECONDARY ENROLLMENTSECTOR REFORMSSENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALSSERVICE DELIVERYSIGNIFICANT IMPACTSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL IMPACTSOCIAL POLICIESSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOCIAL SECTORSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL SPENDINGSTANDARD DEVIATIONSTRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENTSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTARGETINGTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETRADE SHOCKSTRANSPARENCYUNEMPLOYMENTVIOLENCEVULNERABILITYVULNERABLE GROUPS10.1596/20216