This paper examines Turkey’s 2004 Article IV Consultation and Eighth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion. Economic performance over the last three years has been impressive. For the medium term, the main challenge is to...

This paper discusses the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Guinea. Agreement in principle was reached on the SMP from April 2005 to March 2006. The program would support the authorities’ efforts in restoring macroeconomic stability and establish a track record of policy implementation to...

Honduras’s Third Review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and Request for Waiver and Modification of Performance Criteria are discussed. The current stance of monetary and exchange rate policies are broadly appropriate, and financial sector reforms are proceeding. Progress...

This 2003 Article IV Consultation highlights that the macroeconomic developments in the Russian Federation remained generally strong, with a third consecutive year of considerable GDP growth, fiscal surplus, and large current account surplus. The economy continues to benefit from the earlier...

Iceland’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that new projects have rekindled rapid growth and the economy is exhibiting signs of overheating, with imbalances evident in inflation, the current account, and external debt. GDP grew at an average rate of 3.8 percent between 1995 and 2004,...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that during the first four years of the Third Five-Year Development Plan (2000/01–2003/04), Iran’s real GDP grew by 5.6 percent on average. The external current account was in surplus, external debt was reduced to a very low level,...

This staff report discusses Seychelles 2013 Article IV Consultation, Seventh Review Under the Extended Arrangement and Request for Modification of Performance Criterion. The repayment of domestic debt, a preference for foreign financing, and shallow domestic financial markets have resulted in...

Samoa has achieved a major economic transformation over the last decade and a half. This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that real per capita GDP in Samoa has increased by more than 3 percent per year on average, and external public debt has fallen below 40 percent of GDP. The external...

The economy continues to recover at a steady pace, buoyed by strong activity in the oil and gold sectors, as well as public investment. In the wake of the January 2011 devaluation and concurrent increase in taxes, the fiscal balance shifted from a deficit of 3 percent of GDP in 2010 to a surplus...

The new government is committed to prudent macroeconomic policies and to enhancing Georgia’s business-friendly environment. Large external liabilities plus its high current account deficit remain the main sources of vulnerability, and reducing these in an orderly manner is a key...