Sovereign risk was a big macro theme in 2011, and understandably so. This theme will not abate in 2012. Indeed, this year will likely feature many additional sovereign risk developments that will impact in a consequential manner the functioning of the global economy and financial markets. In the...

An empirical analysis of the determinants of currency substitution in Egypt and the Yemen Arab Republic is provided for the period 1980-86. During this period, residents exhibited a marked preference to substitute foreign money balances for domestic balances, as indicated by their holdings of...

The paper examines the challenges that developing countries face in accelerating and sustaining growth. The cases of China and India are examined to illustrate a more general phenomenon which might be called model uncertainty. As a developing economy grows, its market and regulatory institutions...

In the United States and Europe, central banks have essentially been the only policymaking entities consistently willing and able to take bold measures to deal with an unusually complex set of national, regional, and global economic and financial challenges since the onset of the Great Recession...

Kuwait has made an impressive recovery from the damage and disruptions caused by the Iraqi invasion in 1990, as evidenced by the restoration of basic economic and social services, the recovery of the oil sector, the rehabilitation of infrastructure, and the steady reduction in the fiscal and...

The paper analyzes the evolution of Mexico’s approach to commercial bank debt restructuring since the outbreak of the 1982 debt servicing problems. It discusses the key elements of the approach, their implementation, and their interaction with developments in the “international debt...

The paper analyzes the scope and implications of greater economic integration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). After reviewing whether MENA satisfies the defining characteristics of a region, it documents the low level of regional economic interaction. It argues that gains from...

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,...