This paper reviews the economics of trade policy in financial services, highlighting differences between trade across borders and through commercial presence. Trade liberalization could complement other financial reforms by enhancing the efficiency, quality, and variety of financial services and...

After several years of transition, major weaknesses in the banking and enterprise sectors remain the root cause of low growth. A large share of nonperforming assets in the portfolio of large banks, stemming from losses in the enterprise sector, has been a key impediment to financial sector...

This report discusses major developments in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), and updates the statistical tables on recent economic developments and provides an overview of the real sector. Factors that have limited revenue collections and developments in the monetary and...

The main purposes of this paper are to review the operational modalities and experience of oil funds currently in place in Norway, Chile (copper), the State of Alaska, Venezuela, Kuwait, and Oman, and to draw some preliminary conclusions on their contribution to enhance fiscal management. The...

This paper outlines a “modern” approach to managing risks in cross-border capital movements that is consistent with an environment of increased and liberalized capital flows. Key elements of this approach include: a consistent monetary and exchange rate policy mix to avoid incentives for...

This paper was one of the first writings that appeared on the subject and presented at a local conference while pending publication with the Indian Economic Journal.After a brief Introduction, Section 2 discusses broadly the process used for generating the data used for analysis as also the...