This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in Solomon Islands is slowly rebounding from the slowdown of the first half of 2013, when agriculture, logging, and gold production fell, owing mainly to unfavorable weather developments, lower terms of trade, and one-off factors....

Bangladesh is reducing poverty and making headway toward meeting its MDGs. However, political considerations are exerting an increasing influence on economic policy decisions. The overall fiscal balance has been kept below budget and program targets, notwithstanding sizable revenue slippages....

The 2007/8 financial crisis exposed and exacerbated the debt pathologies of the ‘West’. The paper examines whether the new global debt relations that have been generated by this crisis have transformed global power politics, changing the way in which the ‘global South’ and the ‘global...

This paper discusses Bangladesh’s Third Review Under the Extended Credit Facility and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria. Political uncertainty and nationwide strikes are taking a toll on economic activity, with private investment most affected. Real GDP growth moderated in...

Bangladesh has made substantial progress in strengthening macroeconomic conditions and structural policies. Strong vigilance, guided by adherence to programmed deficit targets, is needed, however. The strengthening of debt management practices now under way will reinforce debt sustainability....

Recent events have shown that sovereigns, just like banks, can be subject to runs, highlighting the importance of the investor base for their liabilities. This paper proposes a methodology for compiling internationally comparable estimates of investor holdings of sovereign debt. Based on this...

This Selected Issues Paper assesses Macedonia’s public debt markets and presents recommendations for their further development. Macedonia’s domestic debt market is in the early stages of development and is small by regional standards. The paper also analyzes the main causes of...