This paper discusses key findings of the First Review Under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) for Cape Verde. The PSI seeks to reduce macroeconomic risks, provides a margin of safety against exogenous shocks, and addresses the prospect of a longer-term decline in highly concessional external...

This paper focuses on the Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s Sixth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and a Request for Waiver of Performance Criterion. Performance under the PRGF-supported program remained strong in 2002. All the quantitative and structural...

This paper focuses on proposed Stand-By arrangement (SBA) for Mongolia. This proposed SBA would aim to smooth adjustment to the catastrophic terms-of-trade shock, restore health to the country’s fiscal finances, and allow for exchange rate flexibility in line with market conditions. In...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that after 15 years of impressive growth led by a housing boom, the Spanish economy has entered a sharp downturn in the wake of the global liquidity squeeze since mid-2007. Executive Directors have commended the authorities for their timely and...

Burundi is emerging from more than a decade of civil conflict that started with the 1993 coup d’état against its first elected government. Macroeconomic developments in 2005 were broadly in line with the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program, although growth was lower at about...

Economic growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been impressive with GDP. The dominance of foreign-owned bank subsidiaries has transformed the financial sector and altered the risks to financial stability. Reforms should focus on strengthening banking supervision and adapting it to the...

This paper discusses key findings of the financial sector stability assessment for Romania. The assessment reveals that in recent years, Romania’s financial sector regulatory authorities have made significant progress in adopting international best practices, including through...

Vietnam's macroeconomic performance has been strong, fueled by strong export performance, poverty reduction, and domestic investment. Executive Directors welcomed this development, and stressed the need for strong monetary, exchange rate, and fiscal policies. They appreciated the prudent...

We describe unique aspects of microstates-they are less diversified, suffer from lumpiness of investment, they are geographically at the periphery and prone to natural disasters, and have less access to capital markets-that may make the current account more vulnerable, penalizing exports and...

Based on a version of the IMF’s new Global Economic Model (GEM), calibrated to analyze macroeconomic interdependence between the United States and the rest of the world, this paper asks to what extent an asymmetric productivity shock in the tradable sector of the economy may account for real...