PRESS RELEASE: GUIDE TO MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE INDICATORS
May 24, 2007

Published in collaboration with the Jefferson Consulting Group, a Washington, DC consulting firm, the Guide will serve as a convenient resource for anyone interested in learning about this new and important source of U.S. economic aid to developing countries.

Authorized by Congress in 2004, the Millennium Challenge Corporation ties the provision of U.S. financial aid to the achievement of specific social and economic benchmarks, known as “Challenge Indicators.” To become eligible for economic assistance from the MCC, applicant nations must demonstrate progress concerning sixteen different Indicators, which are grouped under three broad headings: Ruling Justly, Investing in People, and Encouraging Economic Freedom. The Indicators themselves, however, are quite specific.

For example, to be characterized as Ruling Justly, applicants are evaluated on the basis of Indicators such as political stability, the existence of free and fair elections, and the right to free assembly and the free expression of ideas. Also considered is the existence of a judicial system in which contracts may be enforced. The Indicators for Investing in People include consideration of such specific data as the applicant’s immunization rates, its expenditures on primary education and, especially, its rate of completion of primary education by girls. Under the category of Economic Freedom, applicants are evaluated on the basis of Indicators such as their rate of inflation, the cost of starting up a business and the average number of days required to begin operations.

The Guide is the only publication which provides a roadmap for readers interested in learning how to demonstrate eligibility for MCC assistance. The Guide will be an indispensable source on this subject for government officials, diplomats, economists, consultants and others interested in having a guide to the criteria by which the MCC determines “scores” for countries seeking assistance.

$55.00 for buyers from the private sector.
$35.00 for government personnel.