This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Libyan economy remains largely state controlled and heavily dependent on the oil sector. Since the lifting of the Libya-specific trade sanctions of the United Nation and United States in September 2003 and September 2004, respectively, the...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that tighter fiscal and monetary policies in Suriname helped stabilize the exchange rate and moderate inflation pressures in 2003 and 2004. The fiscal deficit narrowed from 6.5 percent of GDP in 2002 to near balance in 2003, while a tighter monetary...

This paper analyzes Rwanda’s Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Monetary and Financial Policy Transparency, Banking Supervision, and the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating...

This paper reviews central bank legislation in 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 1990s. Using panel regressions, we find a negative relationship between legal central bank independence (CBI) and inflation. This result holds for three alternative measures of CBI and after...

The terrorist attacks that have occurred in the past few years around the world have raised international awareness of the danger of terrorism and its complex repercussions on the financial markets. This paper explores the ways in which financial markets reacted to the attacks and the...

This study takes stock of the institutional reform of monetary policy in Latin America since the early 1990s. It argues that strengthening the legal independence of central banks, together with macroeconomic policies, was instrumental in reducing inflation from three-digit annual rates in the...

This report evaluates the Observance of Standards and Codes on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for New Zealand (NZ). The assessment reveals that since its last evaluation in 1998, NZ has made few...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes recent developments in the financial system of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It describes the monetary developments in 2003–05 and reform of the financial system. The paper examines the impact of monetary and exchange rate policies on...

This report assesses the Observance of Standards and Codes on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for Mexico. The report highlights that Mexico has removed specific exemptions to customer...

The most salient trend in monetary policy over the past two decades has been increasing reliance on money market operations, which reflects the belief that allowing market forces to allocate financial resources brings about increased economic efficiency and growth. However, small economies and...