International Development Association (IDA)

The International Development Association (IDA) was founded in 1960 and its purpose is to provide "interest-free (credits) and grants to the poorest developing countries in order to boost their economic growth and improve people’s living conditions."

The IDA is finanaced through contributions made by its wealthier member countries and through the repayment of outstanding credits. Since it's founding, credits and grants provided by the IDA have totaled $170 billion.

There are three factors that determine whether or not countries are eligible for IDA assistance (as stated directly from the source):

• Relative poverty, defined as Gross National Product (income) per person below an established threshold, currently US$1,025 per year.
• Lack of creditworthiness to borrow on market terms and therefore a need for concessional resources to finance the country's development program.
• Good policy performance, defined as the implementation of economic and social policies that promote growth and poverty reduction.

Assessment of Aid

There are 14 Country Outcome Indicators that have been developled to asses national poverty-reduction strategies (As stated by the IDA):

• Proportion of population below $1/day poverty line
• Under-5 child mortality
• HIV prevalence rate of women aged 15 - 24
• Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
• Ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education
• Primary school completion rate
• Proportion of population with sustainable access to a secure water source
• Fixed lines and mobile telephone per 1000 inhabitants
• Formal cost required for business start up
• Time required for business start-up
• Public expenditure management
• GDP per capita
• Access of rural population to an all-season road
• Household electrification rate

The following Indicators for IDA’s Contribution to Country Outcomes consist of nine indicators on three different levels that determine how effective the aid provided by the IDA has been in helping the country in question (as stated by the IDA):

Project level

• Percent of IDA projects with satisfactory outcome ratings
• Percent of IDA projects with satisfactory rating quality at entry
• Percent of IDA Implementation Completion Reports with satisfactory data on project outcomes
• Percent of first IDA Project Status Reports with satisfactory baseline data on expected outcomes for projects initiated after July 2003

Country level

• Number of results-based CASs prepared during IDA14

Outputs

• Health: For example, health clinics constructed
• Education: For example, teachers trained
• Water supply: For example, household water connections
• Transport: For example, kilometers of rural roads constructed

All information on this page was provided by the World Bank under the IDA [[1]] and the IDA page titled "Results Measurement Assessment" [[2]]

Cranka 11:00, 30 Nov 2006 (EST)