The five Regional Economic Outlooks published biannually by the IMF cover Asia and Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. In each volume, recent economic developments and prospects for the region are discussed as a whole, as well as for...

This paper documents two aspects of Canada’s regional diversity and compares the results with those across U.S. regions. Although gradually converging, Canadian provinces exhibit a considerably diverse economic structure. The paper suggests that the reduction in macroeconomic volatility...

Fiscal profligacy, an erosion of competitiveness, and governance problems have undermined investor confidence and curtailed access to foreign financing in Zimbabwe. The new economic team has taken steps in devaluing the currency and raising the awareness of public opinion about the size of the...

Uruguay's performance under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) has been favorable, and commendable progress has been achieved in containing the crisis and stabilizing the economy. Executive Directors welcomed this development, and stressed the need to implement policies in the fiscal, banking, and...

The government of Rwanda has recognized that economic development in most areas would have to be the responsibility of the private sector (particularly since military and civil service employment would be reduced), but that the public sector could still have a role in promoting economic equality...

This paper reviews economic developments in the Republic of Mozambique during 1990–96. Under the Economic and Social Rehabilitation Program (ESRP), the economy has made impressive economic gains. Real GDP growth averaged 6.7 percent in 1987–95, despite the civil war, a decline in...

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Nigeria highlights the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). NEEDS gives special support to agriculture, industry, small and medium-scale enterprises, and oil and gas. Under the plan, the government will seek long-term capital...

This paper on recent developments and regional policy issues in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) discusses the recent development and trends in economic integration. Trade restrictions and an uneven application of CEMAC rules constrain external and intraregional trade....

Poverty risk is most marked for children, displaced persons and returnees, unemployed, and people with low education. Basic goals of the macroeconomic framework of the mid-term development strategy of Bosnia and Herzegovina are to reduce the overall public expenditures, lower the public debt,...