Over the past 25 years, India's economy grew at an average real rate of close to 6 percent, with growth rates in recent years accelerating to 9 percent. Yet by 2005-06, the general government debt-to-GDP ratio was 34 percentage points higher than in the 1980s. The authors examine the links...

Over the past 25 years, India’s economy grew at an average real rate of close to 6 percent, yet by the end of this period, the general government debt-to-GDP ratio was 34 percentage points higher. We examine the links between the public finances and growth in the post-1991 period. The...

Russia had more-or-less completed the privatization of its manufacturing and natural resource sectors by the end of 1997. And in February 1998, the annual inflation rate at last dipped into the single digits. Privatization should have helped with stronger micro-foundations for growth. The...

April 2000 - In Russia, implicit subsidies amounting to 10 percent of GDP per year in the form of nonpayments have stifled growth, contributed to the August 1998 macroeconomic crisis through their impact on public debt, and made at best a questionable contribution to equity. Hardening budgets...

During the 1980s and the 1990s, private investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has on average shown a decreasing or stagnant trend. This contrasts with the situation of the Asian economies, where private investment has always been more dynamic. In this article, it is empirically...

This paper derives optimal equity-bond-annuity portfolios for retired households who face stochastic capital market returns, differential exposures to mortality risk and uncertain uninsured health expenses, and differential Social Security and defined benefit pension coverage. The results show...

Nigeria's oil boom has not brought an end to perennial stagnation in the non-oil economy. Is this the unavoidable consequence of the resource boom or have misguided policies contributed? This paper indicates that the extreme volatility of expenditure rather than Dutch Disease effects are behind...