This paper discusses Jamaica's Second Review under the Stand-by Arrangement and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria (PCs). Jamaica's economy is showing sustained signs of activity, but growth remains vulnerable to the weather. Inflation and the current account deficit are low,...

This paper discusses Honduras' Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the Stand-by Arrangement (SBA). All continuous performance criteria for the end of June 2017 were met. The indicative target on the National Electricity Company's (ENEE) operating revenue-to-spending ratio was missed by a small margin...

Does international investor sentiment improve when a crises-ridden country participates in an IMF program? I argue that merely participating in an IMF program may not revive the sentiments of investors. Rather, investor sentiment would improve when governments enhance the credibility of their...

Structural adjustment programs of the IMF are often blamed for disrupting social relations by forcing austerity on vulnerable people and introducing unpopular liberalization policies. Some suggest that such interventions harm ethnic relations in developing countries because they are insensitive...

The global economic downturn has heightened concerns about intervention by global financial institutions and the maintenance of political stability. At least one, prominently-published article purports to show that signing on to an IMF structural adjustment program (SAP) increases the risk of...

The paper sets out to explain why the European Central Bank and the European Commission relaxed their opposition to debt restructuring and fiscal accommodation for Greece in the shift from the first to second adjustment program. Using the findings of the empirical analysis, the paper shows that...

Among the largest entities in the world are the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Group. From the perspective of researchers in accounting, such size is used as a proxy for political visibility; and often implicit asymmetries of power and information become explicit in...

Reaping the full benefit of adjustment packages depends on a government's commitment to reform as well as a variety of complementary factors, many of which have not been duly considered because of the lack of time, resources, and skills. It is becoming increasingly clear that if these packages...