This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that Malta’s economic recovery is gaining traction, owing in large part to cyclical strength and some structural change. A public investment boom, financed largely by grants from the European Union, reignited growth in 2005. A modest recovery...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic performance of the Czech Republic strengthened during 2005–06, supported by the expanding capacity of the export-oriented automotive sector and a cyclical recovery in the European Union. The momentum of growth has been underpinned...

In this paper, we track fiscal authority behaviour in the ten new EU member states (NSM) in the period which immediately preceded their EU accession. We first present basic stylized facts about public budgets of those countries. The paper then analyses reasons which led to periods of fiscal...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that despite the better cyclical outlook, medium-term trends for Italy remain troubling: potential growth is estimated at just 1¼ percent, as low productivity growth and high domestic costs have led to a steady erosion of competitiveness and export...

In this paper, we track fiscal authority behaviour in the ten new EU member states (NSM) in the period which immediately preceded their EU accession. We first present basic stylized facts about public budgets of those countries. The paper then analyses reasons which led to periods of fiscal...

The Stability and Growth Pact has been a success in numerous EU countries, especially in guiding them toward underlying fiscal balance ahead of population aging. These countries tend to be smaller, subject to greater macroeconomic volatility, and reliant on a form of fiscal governance that...

In this paper, we track behaviour of fiscal authorities of the ten new EU member states (NSM) in the period which immediately preceded their EU accession. We first present basic stylized facts about public budgets of those countries. The paper then analyses reasons which led to periods of fiscal...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in Greece has been strong for several years, underpinned by a large fall in interest rates owing to adoption of the euro and subsequent European Central Bank easing. In 2005, the authorities implemented substantial fiscal...