This technical note discusses the banking system structure, performance, and medium-term challenges for Switzerland. The note discusses that the Swiss banking sector has been undergoing a substantial consolidation over the last 10 years, but retains a rich collection of institutional types...

This paper presents a Joint Staff Advisory Note on Vietnam’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. GDP growth accelerated to 7.7 percent despite several exogenous shocks, including the outbreak of avian influenza and a sharp rise in the price of key imported commodities. However, an adverse...

This paper provides an initial comprehensive framework for Afghanistan to build institutions, sustain growth, and reduce poverty. First, macroeconomic, political, and security risks were identified. As the interim strategy presents a very ambitious five-year framework, there is an urgent need...

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Poverty Reduction Strategy paper reports that significant progress has been made since the late 1990s in building both a market economy and a single economic space. GDP growth has slowed recently following the post-conflict bounce, and the current account deficit...

The Joint Staff Assessment (JSA) of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Progress Report on Kenya reviews poverty reduction strategy. The Investment Program for the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (IP-ERS) that the government of Kenya has recently submitted to the...

This paper presents the Joint Staff Assessment of Serbia and Montenegro’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The PRSP for Serbia and Montenegro comprises a union-level overview and a PRSP for each of the two republics. The Montenegrin PRSP is broadly in line with the Agenda of...

As state and federal agencies strive to meet the growing needs of people with disabilities while using fewer resources, better disability data are needed for monitoring and improving the health, economic status, and overall well-being of this population. A report by staff from the Center for...

Recent financial crises have highlighted the potentially significant macroeconomic costs of financial system instability, and the potential for the instability in the financial system of one country to have broader implications for the stability of financial systems and macroeconomic performance...

Military expenditure is difficult to define. Major issues are functional versus institutional approaches to defense, indirect and intangible costs and benefits and current versus comprehensive accounting. Authoritative institutions have adopted standard definitions but national governments are...