KEY ISSUES The economy is embarking on sustainable growth, but the main challenge will be to boost long-run growth by structural reforms and reorienting fiscal policy. Supply-side slowdowns in the energy sector are ending, while available evidence suggests non-energy growth is robust and...

This Selected Issues paper assesses the current strength of the balance sheets of large banks in Belize and takes stock of progress made on the regulatory, supervisory, and crisis management frameworks since the 2011 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). The improvement in financial...

KEY ISSUES Context. Guatemala's economy has performed solidly since the 2008-09 crisis. Output has converged to potential, inflation is under control, and macroeconomic policies remain prudent. However, risks to the outlook are tilted downwards, while buffers are modest and space for...

This Selected Issues note estimates Guatemala's potential output and output gap using the production function approach, univariate statistical filters, and multivariate models based on the Kalman filter method. In the production function approach, potential output is modeled as a function of...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that Suriname’s macroeconomic conditions weakened in 2013 as gold and oil prices declined. With those prices falling below recent peaks, the large fiscal and external sector exposures to the mineral sector continued their deterioration in 2013,...

This Selected Issues Paper carries out an empirical analysis of the effects of policies and external shocks on economic activity in Suriname. The estimates are broadly consistent with prior empirical findings. The results reveal a strong contemporaneous correlation between credit and demand,...

KEY ISSUES Outlook and risks: Growth is projected to reach 2.4 percent in 2014, while core inflation remains close to the target. Strong export demand has boosted manufacturing production and employment, and construction activity is starting to recover, supported by an expansion of public...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Uruguayan economy continues to decelerate gradually. Real GDP growth is estimated to have softened to a still robust 3.25 percent in 2014 from 4.5 percent in 2013, mostly reflecting the moderation in domestic demand growth amid a less...

This Selected Issues paper reviews Uruguay’s experience with inclusive growth over the last two decades, and identifies challenges and policy options to promote greater equality going forward. Uruguay has a long history of high living standards comparable to many developed countries, and has...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that Brazil’s growth has decelerated in recent years. The boost from decade-old reforms, expanding labor income, and favorable external conditions, which enabled consumption and credit-led growth and underpinned sustained poverty reduction, has lost...