Colombia’s economy has been resilient to the adverse global shocks of recent years. Inflation has been subdued, credit growth has eased, and financial soundness indicators are strong. The strong balance of payments continues to put upward pressure on the Colombian peso. In 2013, growth is...

The shift to a parliamentary democracy in 2010 provided an impetus for the Kyrgyz Republic to reform the economy. Despite the recent progress, the Kyrgyz Republic faces significant economic challenges, which will require actions on many fronts. Improving the business climate, governance, and...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that over the past year, the economy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has been overheating from expansionary macroeconomic policies. The fiscal deficit is estimated to have widened to 6½ percent of GDP, mainly fro'm a doubling of...

This paper surveys the academic and policy debate on the origins of global imbalances, their prospects after the global crisis, and their policy implications. A conventional view of global imbalances considers them to primarily result from macroeconomic policies and cyclical forces that cause...

Dünya ekonomik konjonktürü Japonya'nın Asya Krizi sonrası bocalaması ve AB'nin kendi iç sorunlarıyla meşgul olması nedeniyle ABD'deki konjonktürden doğrudan etkilenir hale gelmiştir. Globalleşme adı verilen ve tek tek ülke ekonomilerinin dünya ekonomisine eklemlenmesi diye...

This paper investigates the drivers of reserves in emerging markets (EMs) and small island (SIs) and develops an operational metric for estimating reserves in SIs taking into account their unique characteristics. It uses quantile regression techniques to allow the estimated factors driving...

Despite relatively fast economic growth over the past few years, Cape Verde’s public debt to GDP ratio has risenrapidly. Achieving an appropriate balance among public investment, growth, and debt sustainability has become a priority for the Cape Verdean authorities. The IMF-World Bank...

The paper examines the extent to which current account imbalances of euro area countries are related to intra-euro area factors and to external trade shocks. We argue that the traditional explanations for the rising imbalances are correct, but are incomplete. We uncover a large impact of...

Views on the effectiveness of sterilized reserve intervention vary. Sterilized intervention is generally seen as ineffective in advanced countries while persistent intervention by some emerging markets is often cited as contributing to undervalued exchange rates and current account surpluses....