Release of Candidate Countries Kicks Off the FY2008 Selection Process

On Friday, August 24, the MCC released the list of MCA candidate countries (pdf) for the upcoming FY2008 eligibility selection. This year there are 67 low income countries (LICs) and 28 lower middle income countries (LMICs) in the running (down from 69 LICs and 30 LMICs last year). In addition to the candidate countries, 8 LICs and 5 LMICs that would be considered candidates if it weren’t for legal provisions that make them ineligible for US foreign assistance will be included in performance comparisons and the calculation of median scores.

There is some interesting shifting in income-level classification this year. Armenia (a year into a compact) and Ukraine (selected as eligible last year), along with Angola and Azerbaijan (neither of which are currently eligible), move into the LMIC category where they will face a more competitive group of peers and higher medians. Both Armenia's and Ukraine's Control of Corruption score, for instance, will fall below the median of the LMIC group, though both would remain above the LIC median. If past practice is anything to go by, however, the Board is likely to show some leniency when considering countries that move from LIC to LMIC and fail due to higher medians rather than a decline in performance.
Brazil, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Montenegro have incomes that exceed the maximum for the LMIC category this year, and are no longer candidate countries. None are currently MCA-eligible.
With the publication of the candidate countries, the approximately 90-day selection process (pdf) is officially underway. We are expecting an early December date for the Board’s selection and announcement of the FY2008 eligible countries.