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This page provides acronyms and abbreviations for terms you may encounter while visiting our site or when researching other materials on International Financial Systems and their Institutions. If you notice any that are missing, please let us know! publications(at)halifaxinitiative.org.
AAM – Accountability and Advisory Mechanism
AfDB – African Development Bank
ADB – Asian Development Bank
APEC – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
ASEAN – Association of South-East Asian Nations
BIS – Bank for International Settlements
BITs – Bi-lateral Investment Treaties
BOP – Balance of Payments
BWIs – Bretton Woods Institutions
CAL – Capital Account Liberalisation
CAS – Country Assistance Strategy
CAO – Compliance Advisory Ombudsman (IFC and MIGA)
CCFF – Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility
CCL – Contingency Credit Line
CDD – Community-Driven Development
CDF – Comprehensive Development Framework
CDPF – Country Development Policy Framework
CFAA – Country Financial Accountability Assessment
CIDA – Canadian International Development Agency
CLS – Core Labour Standards
CODE – Committee on Development Effectiveness (World Bank)
COFACE – Compagnie française d'Assurance pour le commerce extérieur, France's ECA
COGAM – Committee on Governance and Executive Directors' Administrative Matters (World Bank)
CPAR – Country Procurement Assessment Review
CPIA – Country Policy and Institutional Assessment
CSO – Civil Society Organization
CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility
CTT – Currency Transaction Tax
DAC – Development Assistance Committee (OECD)
DANIDA – Danish International Development Agency
DDA – Doha Development Agenda
DC – Development Committee
DFID – U.K. Department for International Development
Ducroire/Delcredere – Belgian ECA
EA – Environmental Assessment, see also EIA and ESIA
EBRD – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ECA – Export Credit Agency
ECB – European Central Bank
ECG – Export Credit Group of the OECD
ECGD – Export Credit Guarantee Department, the United Kingdom's ECA
EDC – Export Development Canada, Canada's ECA
EDF – European Development Fund
EFA – Education for All
EFF – Extended Fund Facility (IMF)
EFIC – Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, Australia's ECA
EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment, see also ESIA
EIB – European Investment Bank
EIR – Extractive Industries Review of the World Bank
EITI – Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
ERG – Export Risk Guarantee, Switzerland's ECA
ESIA – Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
ESSD – Environmentally and Financially Sustainable Development Network
EU – European Union
Ex-Im – Export Import Bank, the US ECA
FDI – Foreign direct investment
FfD – Financing for Development
FM – Fall Meeting (World Bank and IMF)
FSAP – Financial Sector Assessment Programme
FPIC – Free Prior and Informed Consent (not to be confused with FPIConsultation)
FSAP – Financial Sector Assessment Program
FSF – Financial Stabilization Forum
FY – Financial Year
G7/G8/G20/G77 – Group of 7/8/20/77
GAO – U.S. General Accounting Office, equivalent to Canada's Auditor General
GAP – Global Accountability Project
GATS – General Agreement on Trade in Services
GEF – Global Environment Facility
GNI – Gross National Income
GNP – Gross National Product
Hermes – Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG, Germany's ECA
HGA – Host Government Agreement
HIPC – Heavily Indebted Poor Country
HIPCI – Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
HRCA – Human Rights Compliance Assessment
HRIA – Human Rights Impact Assessment
IBRD – International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR – International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
ICSID – International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
IDA – International Development Association
IDB – Inter-American Development Bank
IEO – Independent Evaluation Office (IMF)
IFC – International Finance Corporation
IFF – International Finance Facility
IFI – International Financial Institution (IMF)
ILO – International Labour Organization
IMF – International Monetary Fund
INT – Department of Institutional Integrity
IPP – International Parliamentarians' Petition
IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature
JBIC – Japan Bank for International Cooperation, one of Japan's ECAs
JIC – Joint IMF-World Bank Implementation Committee
LICUS – Low-Income Countries Under Stress
MAI – Multilateral Agreement on Investment
MDB – Multilateral Development Bank
MDG – Millennium Development Goal
MFN – Most Favoured Nation
MIF – Multilateral Investment Fund (Inter-American Development Bank)
MIGA – Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
MOU – Memorandum of Understanding
MDB – Multilateral Development Bank
NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement
NEPAD – New Partnership for Africa's Development
NEXI – Nippon Investment Insurance, one of Japan's ECAs
NGO – Non-governmental Organization
NLF – New Lending Framework (Inter-American Development Bank)
NORAD – Norwegian Development Agency
ODA – Official Development Assistance
OECD – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OED – Operations Evaluation Department (World Bank)
OPIC – Overseas Private Investment Corporation
OVE – Office of Evaluation and Oversight (Inter-American Development Bank)
PBA – Program Based Approaches
PER – Public Expenditure Review
PIFI – Public International Financial Institutions
PMO – Prime Minister's Office
PnoWB – Parliamentary Network on the World Bank
PRGF – Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (IMF)
PRA – Political Risk Assessment
PRAD – Political Risk Assessment Department
PREM – Poverty Reduction and Economic Management
PRS – Poverty Reduction Strategy
PRSC – Poverty Reduction Support Credit (World Bank)
PRSP – Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
PS – Performance Standard (IFC and MIGA)
PSIA – Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (IMF)
QAG – Quality Assurance Group (World Bank)
RDB – Regional Development Bank
SACE – Istituto per i servizi Assicurativi per il Commercio Estero, Italy's ECA
SAL – Structural Adjustment Loans
SAPRI – Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative
SDR – Special Drawing Right (IMF)
SIA – Social Impact Assessment
SM – Spring Meeting (World Bank and IMF)
SRF – Supplemental Reserve Facility
SWAP – Sectorwide approach System (UNCTAD)
TNC – Transnational Corporation
UDHR – Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UN – United Nations
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme
WB – World Bank – includes IDA and IBRD
WBG – World Bank Group – includes IBRD, IDA, IFC and MIGA
WCD – World Commission on Dams
WDR – World Development Report
WHS – World Heritage Site
WP-EFF – Working Party on Aid Effectiveness and Donor Practices
WRI – World Resources Institute
WTO – World Trade Organization