Note on Potential Transition to Upper Middle Income Country Sample Clauses

Note on Potential Transition to Upper Middle Income Country. (UMIC) Status After Initial Selection Some candidate countries may have a high per capita income or a high growth rate that implies there is a chance they could transition to UMIC status during the life of an MCC partnership. In such cases, it is not possible to accurately predict if or when such country may transition to UMIC status. Nonetheless, such countries may have more resources at their disposal for funding their own growth and poverty reduction strategies. As a result, in addition to using the regular selection criteria described in the previous sections, the Board will also use its discretion to assess both the need and the opportunity presented by partnering with such a country, in order to ensure that there is a higher bar for possible selection. Specifically, if a candidate country with a high probability of transitioning to UMIC status is under consideration for selection, the Board will examine additional data and information related to the following: • Whether the country faces significant challenges accessing other sources of development financing (such as international capital, domestic resources, and other donor assistance) and, if so, whether MCC grant financing would be an appropriate tool; • Whether the nature of poverty in the country (for example, high inequality or poverty headcount ratios relative to peer countries) presents a clear and strategic opportunity for MCC to assist the country in reducing such poverty through projects that spur economic growth; • Whether the country demonstrates particularly strong policy performance, including policies and actions that demonstrate a clear priority on poverty reduction; and • Whether MCC can reasonably expect that the country would contribute a significant amount of funding to the compact. These additional criteria would then be applied in any additional years of selection as the country continues to develop its compact. Should a country eventually transition to UMIC status during compact development, a country would no longer be a candidate for selection for that fiscal year. Continuing compact development beyond that point would then be at the Board’s discretion.