The transparency of budget presentation and the accountability to parliament have been improved. A clear view has been provided of the implementation of the objectives of the previous fiscal year for the central government. An annex to the budget showed cost-sharing contributions, which were...

Since end-2001, the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) has focused on crisis management, establishing or rebuilding fundamental institutions and basic government services, and maintaining economic stability with the help of the international community. The authorities have made significant strides...

The Detailed Assessments of the Observance of Standards and Codes on France reviews compliance with Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision. The French insurance market is notable for its broad range of distribution channels, which include tied agents, insurance brokers, salaried...

This Selected Issues paper on Vietnam contains background material on banking sector reform, state enterprise reform, external trade liberalization, and tax reform. The paper highlights that banking sector reforms in Vietnam were focused on the creation of a two-tier banking system, the...

This Selected Issues paper looks at short-term inflation dynamics in the new member states (NMS) of the European Union, focusing on the role of monetary policy regimes. It models the determinants of inflation in the NMS and assesses how different theoretical frameworks best fit the data. The...

Economic developments and policy implementation through mid-2001 were broadly consistent with the program. The authorities have started the participatory process that will underlie the full Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Civil service reform is critical to improve the delivery of public...

This paper presents the status report on Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Having prepared the Interim-PRSP (I-PRSP) in March 2003, the government of Bangladesh has set itself to a well-rounded process of preparing the full-blown PRSP by December 2004. That would...

This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes data module provides a review of Azerbaijan’s data dissemination practices against the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), complemented by an in-depth assessment of the quality of the national accounts, consumer price...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Annex presents an overview of economic developments in Mali in 1994–95. Despite the impact of the devaluation on government spending, the overall fiscal deficit was limited to 13.7 percent of GDP in 1994, with government revenue declining by the...

The paper presents a Joint Staff Assessment (JSA) of the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) Progress Report for Pakistan. The JSA identified some important gaps in the poverty reduction strategy for Pakistan. These include a detailed rural development strategy; a more focused...