This paper examines Mozambique’s First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Mozambique’s performance in 2004 relative to the main macroeconomic objectives of the PRGF-supported program was satisfactory. The fiscal...

This Selected Issues paper examines recent economic developments in Sierra Leone. The paper highlights that the economic recovery in Sierra Leone has benefited especially from the extensive rehabilitation and humanitarian activities in liberated areas. Real GDP growth rose by 4 percent in 2000...

The staff report for the Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Requests for Waiver of Performance Criteria highlights Bulgaria’s economic growth, fiscal policy, and reforms. The economic program for 2006 relies on fiscal and credit restraint to rein in demand and strengthen the...

This paper discusses key findings of the Fourth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Bulgaria. Performance in 2006 was broadly satisfactory, although structural reform implementation was weaker than expected. Notably, the government postponed until mid-2007 the launching of the electronic...

This paper provides a framework for understanding trade patterns in the Mashreq. An augmented gravity model is used to compare actual with expected levels of trade. Trade barriers, political uncertainty, and over-appreciation of domestic currencies seem to explain low levels of international...

This paper looks at the link between fiscal policy and debt sustainability in a number of African countries participating in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The paper finds that, on the basis of current fiscal policies, debt levels will remain unsustainable even after...

This paper develops a simple procedure for incorporating market-based information into the construction of fan charts. Using the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s global growth forecast as a working example, the paper goes through the theoretical and practical considerations of this new...

Economic growth variability is low in Jamaica, with deviations driven more by weather than by external conditions. External developments do, however, have large financial implications for Jamaica. Developments in Jamaica can, in turn, have a significant influence in the wider Caribbean. A recent...

Mexico’s two main economic policy challenges are to fully entrench stability and to remove remaining obstacles to economic growth, necessary to end poverty. The floating exchange rate policy continues to serve Mexico well. An essential part of Mexico’s stability is the resilience...