The research program of the Group of 24 is the world's only research effort devoted to evaluating the international economic system from the perspective of developing nations' needs. Multilateral development banks and other research organizations may put out a larger volume of studies, but their mandate and intended audience are not as clearly defined as the G24's. This makes the papers produced under the auspices of the G24 very special. Nowhere is the voice of the developing nations expressed as cogently and powerfully as in these papers.

This volume continues a tradition of dissemination that has long been part of the G24 agenda. It includes chapters on some of the most burning issues on the agenda: reform of the IMF and its conditionality, debt workouts and restructuring, management of capital flows, efficacy of self-insurance against crises, debt sustainability in the HIPC countries, poverty-reduction strategy papers (PRSP), international public goods, and the Millennium Development Goals and the ‘global partnership for development’. Readers will find fresh and controversial perspectives in each of these chapters.

Separating hype from fact and promise from reality has always been a hallmark of the G24 research tradition. If you are doubtful that there exist effective mechanisms for improving the governance of the IMF and its conditionality, read the chapters by Buira. If you believe that the HIPC initiative has a solid chance of placing poor countries on the path of debt sustainability, read the chapter by Gunter.