This paper aims to inform on the status of Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) in IMF-supported programs, detailing the results presented in the recent review of PRGF-supported programs. The review showed that more needs to be done, both in undertaking PSIA when necessary, and in reporting...

This paper presents an overview of the economy of Hungary. The paper highlights that during the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1976–80), actual growth rates for almost all major plan aggregates remained below the targets. The lower targets set for the increase in both consumption and investment in...

The Mauritian economy showed strong performance owing to its sound macroeconomic policies. Executive Directors emphasized the need to remain competitive and address the growing unemployment problem. They commended the efforts to support the developments in financial services, free port...

This paper explores from a regional perspective the distorted nature of trade in energy products within the CIS countries. The persistence of pricing distortions, barter arrangements, and discriminatory access to pipelines, as well as failure to honor contracts, has disrupted and distorted...

This paper reviews economic developments in Lithuania during 1993–96. Economic growth resumed in 1994 and gained further momentum in 1995; real GDP increased by an estimated 3 percent in 1995. Growth in 1995 was driven by the industrial sector, while agriculture performed poorly. The...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix reviews the factors behind developments in government revenue in Vietnam during 1996–2000. This period encompasses Vietnam’s continued transition to a market-based economy, the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and, toward the end,...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in New Zealand slowed in early 2003 but rebounded in the latter part of the year. Real GDP growth declined from 4¼ percent in 2002 to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2¾ percent in the first half of 2003, amid...

Does the choice of exchange rate regime affect the way an economy's adjustment to real shocks? Exploiting the randomness of natural shocks, this paper assesses empirically the often contrasting answers found in the theoretical literature. The evidence supports key themes in this literature, and...

The paper reviews the main structural reform issues facing Arab countries in the remainder of the 1990s. While the nature, extent, and implications of the policy challenges differ among individual countries in the Arab region, several aspects are common to a large number of them. Accordingly,...