This Background Paper on Nepal highlights that during 1993/94, overall economic performance was generally favorable. Real GDP grew by nearly 7 percent, largely owing to the good monsoon that helped boost agricultural output significantly above the low levels recorded in the previous year....

The Indonesian authorities are to be commended for their continued strong policy performance under their arrangement with the IMF. The economy is sustaining steady growth despite a number of external and domestic shocks; inflation has continued to decline; and there has been an additional buildup...

This paper focuses on 2004 Post Program Monitoring Discussions for the Philippines. The authorities are formulating a significant package of tax measures. IMF staff argued that the bulk of the additional revenues should be saved, thereby front-loading the medium-term deficit reduction effort....

This Selected Issues paper on the United Arab Emirates highlights the achievements in the diversification of the economy and the developments and outlook of the hydrocarbon sector. The political structure of the Federation gives a great deal of independence to the individual Emirates in pursuing...

In Sweden, the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI) follow internationally agreed practices and standards in terms of concepts, definitions, and use classifications. The scope of the indices follows international standards concerning both weights and the coverage of...

The staff report for the Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement on the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia highlights economic developments and policies. FYR of Macedonia’s economic performance since independence has been marked by notable achievements in macroeconomic...

This paper describes economic developments in the Kingdom of the Netherlands during the 1990s. Following a slowdown in 1991–92, the Dutch economy experienced a mild recession in 1993 with GDP growth falling to about ½ percent. Output was sustained by external demand, which contributed...

This paper reviews the Third Progress Report 2002/03 for Tanzania’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The report highlights what the government did during the past year in terms of policy developments, an assessment of the achievements and challenges, including the monitoring system. There are...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix reviews Samoa’s record of economic reform, its economic performance to date, and future areas of reform focus. The paper highlights that reform of the taxation system has reduced Samoa’s dependence on international trade taxes and...

This Selected Issues paper for the Islamic Republic of Iran deals with the analytical considerations relating to the choice of the exchange regime. This issue came to prominence with the exchange rate unification of March 2002. The paper also examines the competitiveness of the non-oil economy,...