The staff report for the 2011 Article IV Consultation concluded that a vibrant recovery marked Estonia’s first year in the euro area, albeit amid nascent tensions. The economy’s strong rebound has been grounded in a proven track record of prudent macroeconomic policies. Executive...

Romania’s external position continues to improve. Inflation peaked in December 2010, and is now likely to decline. Financial market stress has remained relatively low in recent months. The current account deficit improved from 13½ percent of GDP in 2007 to about 4¼ percent of GDP in...

The reports highlights that, even though the Russian economy has started reviving from the crisis, growth has been moderate and inflation high. Executive Directors have advised that the focus should be on reducing fiscal vulnerabilities, lowering inflation, promoting a stronger and more...

Barbados' economy continued to grow, but macroeconomic imbalances worsened. Executive Directors observed that the imbalances are owed to a procyclical fiscal stance, and advised to tighten monetary policy and safeguard the fixed exchange rate regime as an anchor of macroeconomic stability. They...

The economic and financial crisis is affecting the fiscal accounts of virtually every country. Public sector support for the financial system, fiscal stimulus and the automatic stabilizers, as well as the revenue decline from the downturn in commodity and asset prices, are leading to sharp...

This paper investigates whether developing and emerging market countries can implement monetary policies similar to those used by advanced countries during the recent global crisis - injecting significant amounts of money into the financial system without facing major short-run adverse...

This study examines the challenges and issues facing policymakers in highly dollarized economies. Focusing on Cambodia, which achieved almost complete dollarization during 1991-95, the authors review recent developments in the literature on dollarization and examine the costs and benefits of...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Czech Republic’s GDP expanded by 3.1 percent in 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, mainly supported by household consumption. Investment was also strong in 2003—driven by spending on public infrastructure—and swelled in...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that domestic demand in Slovenia rebounded strongly in 2003 after three anemic years. All components of domestic demand strengthened appreciably, fueled by declines in interest rates and the associated pickup in bank credit to the private sector....

This paper discusses Mozambique’s Third Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria. Performance under the program has been broadly satisfactory so far in 2005. All quantitative and...