Jordan’s 2008 Article IV Consultation discusses the appropriate policy response to mounting fiscal and external vulnerabilities and higher inflation. Sharply higher world fuel and food prices led to a marked widening of the fiscal and external current account deficits and, more recently, a...

The second review under Stand-By Arrangement and the financing assurances review highlight Iraq’s economic activity and robust growth. The authorities continue to see the improvement in security conditions, and the related recovery of oil and non-oil activity, as a window of opportunity to...

The First Review under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) discusses policies focused on measures to accelerate the reconstruction of the Iraqi economy while maintaining macroeconomic stability. Inflation has slowed down, and monetary and exchange rate policies have been adjusted. The Central Bank of...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that Thailand has been in an investment slump since 2006. Political turmoil has led to reduced business confidence and slow private investment growth. The main engine of growth for the economy has been the export sector. The authorities have focused...

Economic growth averaged about 2.5 percent a year in the 1990s, and the structure of the economy continued to move away from agriculture as the key banana sector contracted further. Broad money has continued to grow at a slightly higher rate than nominal GDP. At the same time, commercial banks...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that boom in private consumption in Iceland was facilitated by easing household credit conditions, tax cuts, rapidly rising housing and equity wealth, and an appreciating real exchange rate. As a result, the output gap peaked at over 5 percent in...

This paper discusses the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (FYR Macedonia) Request for a Stand-By Arrangement and Extension of Repurchase Expectations. The authorities have asked the IMF to support an ambitious program that includes structural reforms that address the root causes of FYR...

This 2002 Article IV Consultations highlights that following a period of inaction on the structural front and a protracted recession, economic growth in the Czech Republic has picked up. Underlying this performance have been supportive macroeconomic policies, large foreign direct investment, and...

This paper presents four studies on selected issues of the Chilean economy. The new framework for fiscal policy represented by the authorities' target of a central government structural surplus of 1 percent of GDP is also discussed. This study examines whether the variance of the cyclical...

This collection of papers examines IMF-supported programs over the period 1995-2000 in both middle-income and low-income countries. In order to seek insights from a comparison across different types of programs, the sections entitled""Objectives and Outcomes,"" ""Policy Formulation and...