This Selected Issues paper for Indonesia reports that following the major cleanup of the banking sector after the crisis, banks’ performance has improved as net interest margins and profitability have increased. Public and external debt ratios have declined and international reserves have...

This Selected Issues paper on Saudi Arabia assesses Saudi Arabia’s role in the oil market and global economy. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil, has long played a systemically important role in the global oil market. Short-term fluctuations in Saudi...

This Selected Issues Paper analyzes the fiscal position and significant challenges for Luxembourg. Luxembourg’s fiscal position is currently sound, however, fiscal safety buffers are being eroded. The country’s healthy fiscal position will be challenged by forthcoming revenue...

This Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix paper assesses Romania’s external competitiveness by reviewing recent developments in a range of standard indicators and estimating equilibrium real exchange rates. The results suggest that, although Romania’s historical cost advantage vis-à-vis...

The Japanese Government Bond (JGB) market has been stable in Japan since the earthquake, but the factors holding down JGB yields could diminish over time. To limit these risks, fiscal policy should aim to reduce public debt quickly and lengthen maturity of JGBs. The Bank of Japan’s (BoJ)...

This paper analyzes the implications of global rebalancing in the post-crisis period for Korea and how high leverage in the household and SMEs sectors could affect this process. The first section of the paper discusses implications of global rebalancing for Korea using simulations from the...

This Selected Issues Paper focuses on structural reforms and fiscal devaluation in Italy. Italy’s economy has a number of important strengths. Despite these strengths, Italy’s economic performance has lagged behind its peers. The authorities’ reform plans are under way in...

Based on the economic literature, various policy measures and institutions in the product and labor markets that increase growth and employment are studied. From a cross-country approach, this study finds a significant relationship between Vertical Fiscal Imbalances (VFIs) and fiscal performance...

This Selected Issues paper assesses the fiscal risk impact of various events in Tonga and describes the challenges implied for fiscal management. The paper discusses that the Tongan government has made various efforts to limit the budgetary implications of the recent economic and political...

This Selected Issues Paper on Belgium provides an overview of the extent of trade and financial openness of Belgium and the links to particular countries. With an export-to-GDP ratio of 79 percent, Belgium belongs to the most open economies in Europe and also globally. Its exports are highly...