The Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) for low-income countries (LICs) is a standardized analytical tool to monitor debt sustainability. This paper uses DSAs from three periods around the time of the global economic crisis to analyze the projected trajectories of debt ratios for a sample of...

The paper examines the evolution of public sector debt levels and structures in 12 emerging market countries around the time of financial crises. In particular, it focuses on whether the debt situation of sovereign borrowers became more vulnerable in the aftermath of crises. The principal...

Military coups that occurred in Guinea-Bissau and Mali caused economic disruption in the WAEMU countries. Regional policies have been in line with the recommendations, and growth is expected to remain robust, risks are on the downside, and the macroeconomic policy is appropriate. Preserving debt...

This paper focuses on Mali’s First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and Request for Waiver of Nonobservance Performance Criteria. Program implementation in 2004 was mixed. The authorities stuck to their fiscal program, meeting all...

This paper discusses key findings of the Eighth Review under the Extended Credit Facility for Liberia. Economic activity in Liberia remains on a solid upward trend. Inflation has nudged higher owing to rising international fuel prices and elevated food prices. The authorities’ immediate...

Several models establish a positive association between public debt ratios and long-term real yields, but the empirical evidence is not always conclusive. We reconsider this issue, focusing in particular on possible spillover effects of large advanced economies' debt levels to other economies'...

The effects of debt relief on incentives to accumulate debt, consume, and invest are an important concern for donors and recipients. Using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a small open economy with a minimum consumption requirement and an endogenous relief probability, we show...

This paper discusses key findings of the Fifth Review Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Grenada. Four of the six quantitative performance criteria for end-November 2009 were met. The primary balance, excluding the grants target, was missed by 3.3 percent of GDP owing to...

In this study, during 2008, the financial crisis lead Iceland’s public debt to soar from under 30 percent of GDP to more than 100 percent of GDP, and while underlying external debt came down sharply, it remains elevated at close to 300 percent of GDP. First, external sustainability is...

According to IMF and IDA authorities, Guinea-Bissau had met the requirements for reaching the decision point under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The authorities appreciated the country’s tremendous efforts to reestablish economic, social, and...