MCC Releases Annual Scorecards to Measure Countries’ Policy Performance
Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) released its fiscal year 2012 country scorecards today. The scorecards, produced each year for every low income and lower middle income country, measure countries’ policy performance and inform the MCC Board of Directors as they select countries eligible for MCC compact funding.
MCC country scorecards include independent, third-party policy indicators in three categories: Ruling Justly, Economic Freedom, and Investment in People. MCC reviews all of its indicators annually and recommends changes or refinements if better indicators or improved sources of data are identified.
For fiscal year 2012, MCC has implemented a number of changes that modify the overall evaluation of candidate country performance. These changes are outlined in the Fiscal Year 2012 Selection Criteria and Methodology Report [PDF].
While improvements to the selection criteria and methodology are critical, MCC is also mindful of the need to provide countries with a stable set of policy criteria to meet in order to create effective incentives for reform. Therefore, for this year of transition, the Board of Directors will publish and consider countries’ performance on two scorecards: one based on the revised criteria and methodology introduced this year [PDF], and one based on the selection criteria used by MCC through fiscal year 2011 [PDF].
Country performance on the scorecard is one of the key criteria the Board considers in its annual country selection process. The Board also considers MCC’s ability to impact growth and poverty reduction, as well as the availability of funding. MCC’s Board of Directors expects to make fiscal year 2012 country eligibility decisions at its December 2011 meeting. MCC will convene a public town hall meeting following the Board’s eligibility decisions.
MCC’s selection process supports President Obama’s Global Development Policy, which embraces the core MCC tenet that investments are best sustained where good governance exists.
To view the scorecards with country indicator data for fiscal year 2012, click here.
For more information about the selection process and the indicators used to measure policy performance, please click here.