Panamá ha sido uno de los países de más rápido crecimiento en la región, con una rápida expansión económica acompañada de una importante reducción de la pobreza. Impulsada por la inversión pública y privada, así como por la acumulación de mano de obra, la economía panameña...

Approximately sixty percent of German goods exports are transported via sea freight. The international shipping industry is dominated by firms registered in offshore centers with little transparency. Criminals feel invited to abuse these opaque constructions for laundering their illegally...

An IMF team found that Panama has a cash-based system of budgeting and accounting that generates good information on many aspects of public finances. There are, however, many weaknesses in the system which diverge from the sound practices included in the Fund's Fiscal Transparency Code. Panama's...

During two visits in 2023-24, the IMF mission implemented a set of recommendations made by a previous technical assistance mission in May 2022 which were aimed at improving the solvency stress model of the Superintendency of Banks, Panama (SBP). The mission also provided training on the design...

Money laundering and reverse money laundering, also known as terrorism financing, have emerged as critical issues in the 21st century, posing threats to security, economic stability, and the integrity of financial systems. This article explores the growing use of anonymous shell companies as a...

Since the 2012 FSAP, Panama has significantly strengthened its institutional framework and instruments for macroprudential policy-making. Among other reforms, to strengthen the transparency of and accountability for macroprudential policy, the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) and the...

Key institutional pillars of a financial safety net have not been established in Panama. While state-owned banks benefit from an explicit government guarantee, Panama does not possess a deposit insurance framework, lender-of-last resort (LOLR) or emergency liquidity assistance (ELA)mechanism to...

Panama has struggled to bring its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime in line with international standards, resulting in periods of being “grey listed” by the international standard-setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Panama’s AML/CFT...

Since the last Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2012, the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) has made significant progress in updating its regulatory and supervisory framework. The SBP has implemented key elements of the international regulatory reform agenda, including...

GDP growth in 2023 was strong (7.3 percent), exceeding expectations for the third year in a row since the downturn in 2020. Unemployment is near pre-crisis levels while inflation has moderated. Government bond spreads increased in the second half of 2023 as markets became concerned that failure...

With droughts restricting shipping via the Panama Canal since mid-2023, the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have caused a complete cession in LNG shipping between Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. This disruption primarily affects LNG supply from the United States, Qatar, Russia, and North...

We apply the Gross City Development Index (GCD-Index) by Ruiz Estrada and Park (2019) in the case of Panama City, Panama. The GCD-Index calculation is based on the concept of City integral sustainable development platform. The platform consists of ten main structures, which are (i) Main...

This paper examines the influence of transportation infrastructure on migration decisions in the context of the Great Migration in the United States. Focusing on the opening of the Panama Canal in 1920, we isolate the effect of improved economic opportunities from reduced migration costs. Using...

The Country Opinion Survey in Panama assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Panama perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the...

Purpose - This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of the Panama Canal expansion (PCE) on the economies of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, particularly in light of the emergence of larger container ships such as neo-Panamax and post-Panamax vessels....

“Trade Policy Reviews" analyse the trade policies and practices of each member of the WTO. The reviews consist of three parts: an independent report by the WTO Secretariat, a report by the government, and the concluding remarks by the Chair of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. The opening...

The separation of the country of Panama from what was then known as Gran Colombia was a conflict that was fueled mainly by third party interests and mutual benefits for Panama and the United States. The United States mediated and intervened within the political independence of Panama from...

This Selected Issues paper presents the main features and weaknesses of the current Panamanian tax system and provides an international comparison of its performance. Panama's macroeconomic performance has been notably robust. Panama's macroeconomic performance has been notably robust, but...

This 2022 Article IV Consultation discusses that in the decade-and-half preceding the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, an unprecedented construction and investment boom precipitated a rapid economic expansion in Panama. The Panama Canal and Tocumen Airport were expanded, there was large scale...

This technical assistance report on Panama discusses macroprudential policy frameworks. The mission assisted the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) in developing a roadmap to strengthen the macroprudential policy framework in Panama. The mission found that the SBP has adequate capacity to...

This Selected Issues paper assesses Iraq's national pension system by examining the fiscal burden of budget-financed pensions and providing a sustainability analysis of the contributory pension scheme for public sector workers. It also outlines reform options that can assist the authorities in...

We study the impact of the Panama Canal on the development of Canada’s manufacturing sector in the years from 1900 to 1939. Using newly digitized county-level data from the Census of Manu- factures and a market-access approach, we exploit the plausibly exogenous nature of this historical...

On 3 April 2016, Mossack Fonseca provided the historically most significant leak of its shareholder’s data for owning offshore companies. Shareholders include many political and influential figures around the globe, which causes a moral hazard. The study analyses the effects of Panama leak...

I propose a disaggregated analysis of the income that households receive to compare the redistributive capacity of the state taking child poverty as case of study. I use the LIS Database and cross-nationally compare six countries: Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Russia, and South Africa. I...

We use three quasi-natural experiments in Mexico and one in Panama to estimate the effects of having the option to pay with cash on Uber rides. The ability to pay in cash affects the demand for rides, which is reflected in large changes in the total number of trips, fares, miles, and number of...

In this article we evaluate the effectiveness of ethnomathematics education among indigenous children: the JADENKÄ program. This intercultural bilingual program has been designed to strengthen the mathematical and ethnomathematical skills of the Ngäbe preschoolers in Ngäbe-Buglé, a comarca...

This paper investigates factors that predict variation in digital and non-digital remittance fees over time and across countries, exploring differences between CAPDR and other regions. The paper fills a void in the literature on how country- and corridor-specific factors relate to remittance...

Despite continuing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and new risks emanating from global uncertainties, a combination of sound policy measures and a resolute vaccination program have supported a gradual return to normality and underpin a rebound in economic activities. External imbalances...

This paper investigates factors that predict variation in digital and non-digital remittance fees over time and across countries, exploring differences between CAPDR and other regions. The paper fills a void in the literature on how country- and corridor-specific factors relate to remittance...

This report aims to summarize the main findings of the project as gathered by the three baseline documents, and frame them within a coherent set of policy recommendations that can help Panama to maintain their growth momentum in time and make it more inclusive. Three elements stand out as...

In this paper I analyze, within the context of the new 'financial architecture,' the relationship between exchange rate regimes, capital flows and currency crises in emerging economies. The paper draws on lessons learned during the 1990s, and deals with some of the most important policy...