The first years of the 21st century werecharacterized by more prudent macroeconomic policies in thedeveloping world, the positive impact of debt relief onlow-income countries (LICs), and positive growth trends forthe world economy, despite the puncturing of the high-tech"bubble" in Organization for Economic Co-operationand Development (OECD) countries. Until the eve of thefinancial crisis, many emerging economies were able toreduce the vulnerabilities of their debt portfolios and debtmanagement was being carried out under favorablecircumstances. Average maturities increased, reflectingincreases in the maturities of new debt issuances, androllover risks declined. Moreover, the increasedavailability of local currency financing, reflecting thedevelopment of domestic capital markets, and theglobalization of the corporate sector in emerging economiesunderscored the changing landscape of development financing.