This paper was originally prepared for a seminar of the Executive Board of the Fund. In the seminar, Executive Directors expressed a broad range of views with regard to both the adequacy of the Fund's approach to financial programming and the validity of the analysis presented in this paper.

This paper analyzes particular areas of tax policy that have concerned the Colombian authorities during the 1990s, while comprising a comprehensive approach to tax reform over time. It is intended to allow the reader to view in technical detail the type of analysis conducted in a representative...

The financial turmoil of the late 1990s prompted a broad search for tools and techniques for detecting and preventing financial crises, and more recent episodes of instability have high lighted the importance of continuous monitoring of financial systems as a tool for preventing crises. This...

The apparent contradiction between trade liberalization and continuing high trade tax revenue raises the important question of how, precisely, the one affects the other. Although policymakers generally recognize the long-term benefits of trade liberalization, some have argued for at least a...

New Zealand's reforms of economic policy and public sector management systems have attracted international attention. Beginning in 1984, the country adopted a comprehensive and vigorous program of macroeconomic adjustment that involved redefining the state's role in the economy and social...

The paper analyzes the major progress Jordan has made in recent years in macroeconomic stabilization and the transformation of its economic structure. It discusses recent economic developments, macroeconomic policies, and structural reforms and examines the factors underpinning growth, including...

The IMF's internal analysis of exchange rate issues has been guided by, and limited by, the conceptual and empirical frameworks that have emerged from the collective research of the economics profession. The research has provided several general approaches that are useful for assessing whether...

Over the past two decades, Nigeria has not reaped fully the benefits of its national wealth despite its efforts at structural adjustment. This paper concludes that the facts do not justify the negative image that structural adjustment has had in Nigeria. Vigorous market reforms and tight...

The issue of the appropriate exchange rate regime for individual countries has been perennially lively, and the role played by international capital flows and domestic financial systems in determining the performance of these regimes has gained prominence in the policy debate. Using recent...