This study explores the impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF)-linked conditionality on government education expenditures in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Understanding the impact of conditional lending by international financial institutions on education spending is...

The authorities have requested a new ECF-supported program, to deepen reforms undertaken under the previous program (completed in July 2024). They have also requested a program under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF)

The Gambia hosted the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in early May 2024-the second largest intergovernmental organization in the world. Economic recovery is strengthening, while inflation has trended down, albeit slowly. Despite strong revenue collection efforts, the...

Conditionality was a central concern in the development literature of the 1990s. With the massive expansion of targeted public support to private firms since the Great Financial Crisis, the question of conditionality is once again at the center of industrial policy debates. Despite the growing...

The transition to clean energy offers opportunities for developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs) to exploit the export potential of this transition and to accelerate their growth prospects. The WTO-led Aid for Trade initiative provides significant support to these economies to...

Guinea-Bissau continues to face a challenging economic and political environment. Recent downward shocks to cashew exports are adding pressures to the balance of payments and fiscal revenue. Tightening of regional financial conditions continue to raise borrowing costs. Since the political crisis...

On March 22, 2023, the IMF Executive Board approved 38-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangements with Papua New Guinea to help address a protracted balance of payments need, manifested in foreign exchange shortages, and to support the authorities' reforms...

Real GDP growth stalled at 3.8 percent in 2023, dampened by the deterioration of global economic prospects and the negative effect of electoral uncertainty on investment. After peaking in March 2023, inflationary pressures have eased. Led by a new presidential mandate, the authorities are...

Context and outlook. Economic growth is recovering from the impact of the unfavorable global economic environment and domestic factors. Growth is expected to continue strengthening, supported by improvements in the business environment and subsiding global commodity prices. Inflation is...

Conditionality was a central concern in the development literature of the 1990s. With the massive expansion of targeted public support to private firms since the Great Financial Crisis, the question of conditionality is once again at the center of industrial policy debates. Despite the growing...

Côte d'Ivoire is highly exposed to climate change through rising temperatures and sea levels as well as rain pattern changes. Economic vulnerabilities to climate change are mostly due to the country's heavy reliance on agriculture, and the concentration of industrial and services activity in...

This paper presents Cabo Verde's Third Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Request for an Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Performance under the economic reform program is strong, and the...

This paper discusses Benin's Third Review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangements and Request for an Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Robust tax collection is supporting fiscal consolidation, complementing...

This paper presents Guinea-Bissau's Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), Request for a Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and financing assurances review. The authorities' commitment to a range of challenging policy reforms is starting to show some results. They...

Over the past 20 years, China has granted a conspicuous amount of loans to African countries. New loan data show that compared to Western multilateral loans, Chinese loans have relatively high interest rates and shorter maturities, tend to be highly collateralized, and are volatile over time....

Drawing from a growing body of literature on development aid in fragile contexts, this paper investigates the effectiveness of COVID-19 aid in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The paper uses the OECD's Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations to...

Over the past 20 years, China has granted a conspicuous amount of loans to African countries. New loan data show that compared to Western multilateral loans, Chinese loans have relatively high interest rates and shorter maturities, tend to be highly collateralized, and are volatile over time....

The global economy, dominated by the consequences of a disastrous health crisis and international tensions, needs policy support to regain its growth dynamic. To regain an inclusive and sustainable growth dynamic, structural policies of governments are needed to allow a reallocation of resources...

This paper analyzes Guinea-Bissau's Third Review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement and Requests for Augmentation of Access, Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, Modification of a Performance Criterion, and Financing Assurances Review. Guinea Bissau's...

Guinea-Bissau is a fragile state facing significant development challenges, including sustaining the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply disruptions, and the global economic slowdown. The IMF Board approved the First Review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement in May 2023....

This paper highlights Burundi's Request for a 38-Month Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Burundi faces protracted balance of payments needs with a widening current account deficit and low foreign reserves coverage, large development needs, and macroeconomic challenges...

This paper presents Niger's Third Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Request for Extension, Rephasing, and Modification of Performance Criteria of the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, and Request for an Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. The...

This paper presents Senegal's Requests for an Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), an Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and an Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The Senegalese economy has been severely impacted by...

This paper highlights The Gambia's Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Request for a Waiver of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion, and Financing Assurances Review. The IMF Executive Board decision allows for an immediate disbursement of funds to the Gambia to help...

This paper presents Côte d'Ivoire's request for an Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a 40-Month Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). IMF Board approves 40-month arrangements under the EFF and ECF for Côte d'Ivoire to help support the country's...

This paper presents Benin's Second Review under the Extended Fund Facility and the Extended Credit Facility Arrangements. Program performance has been robust, with all end-September and end-December 2022 performance criteria, indicative targets met, and all structural benchmarks implemented....

This paper presents Morocco's Request for an Arrangement under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL). Morocco qualifies for the FCL by virtue of its very strong policies, institutional policy frameworks, and economic fundamentals and continued commitment to maintaining such policies in the future....

This paper presents Bangladesh's Requests for an Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, an Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility, and an Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The authorities are concurrently requesting access to the RSF to...

This paper discusses Uganda's Second and Third Reviews under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement, Requests for a Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion, and Rephasing of Access. The Ugandan authorities are persevering in their reforms despite facing multiple shocks from an...

This paper highlights Arab Republic of Egypt's Request for Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Egypt's IMF-supported program presents a comprehensive policy package to preserve macroeconomic stability, restore buffers, and pave the way for inclusive and...

Providing income support to unemployed education-leavers reduces the returns to investments in education because it makes the consequences of unemployment less severe. We evaluate a two-part policy reform in Belgium to study whether conditioning the prospective entitlement to unemployment...

Activation policies to promote self-sufficiency among recipients of welfare and other types of benefits are becoming more common in many welfare states. We evaluate a law change in Norway making welfare receipt conditional on participation in an activation program for all welfare recipients...

Providing income support to unemployed education-leavers reduces the returns to investments in education because it makes the consequences of unemployment less severe. We evaluate a two-part policy reform in Belgium to study whether conditioning the prospective entitlement to unemployment...