This Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix paper examines the scope for improving the effectiveness of fiscal policy of Serbia and Montenegro in containing the persistently large external imbalance. The paper discusses the causes of the current problems and presents preliminary results of the...

Although not escaping the global slowdown, the Spanish economy has weathered it relatively well. The discussions focused on minimizing short-term risks and on identifying the structural reform priorities for the next government. However, household indebtedness has continued to rise rapidly,...

The public sector in Peru is clearly distinguished from the rest of the economy, but the existence of various legal and statistical definitions of the government makes it difficult to demarcate it clearly from the rest of the public sector. The recent constitutional reform has strengthened the...

In recent years, fiscal performance in Central Europe has steadily deteriorated, in contrast to the improvement in the Baltics. This paper explores the determinants of such differences among countries slated for EU accession. Regression estimates suggest that economic and institutional...

This paper examines Armenia’s Fifth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Request for Extension of the Arrangement. Performance under the PRGF-supported program since mid-2003 has been satisfactory: the authorities met all quantitative targets and implemented...

India's fiscal problem has deep roots in its federal fiscal system, where multiple players find it difficult to coordinate adjustment. The size and closed nature of the Indian economy, aided by its deep domestic capital market and large captive pool of domestic savings, has disguised the cost of...

Already in precarious shape, the financial health of India’s states took a turn for the worse in the late 1990s when state deficits and debt rose sharply. While India is among the world’s most decentralized economies, greater decentralization is not the root cause of this situation. Panel...

This paper reviews the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency for Ukraine, and provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in Ukraine against the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency. It reviews the description of...

This report provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in Fiji against the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency. The assessment has two parts. The first part is a description of practice, prepared by the IMF staff on the basis of discussions with the...