For the past quarter century, Switzerland’s real per capita growth rate has been substantially slower than in most other industrial countries. Unemployment has declined rapidly to 2.4 percent of the labor force in November 1999 from its 1997 peak of more than 5 percent. Inflation has edged up...

The current high Southern African Customs Unions revenues should be used to implement fiscal measures to secure fiscal sustainability and support economic growth. The government should formulate a financial sector strategy that addresses Swaziland’s twin challenges of enhancing financial...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation underlies that strong macroeconomic policies have enabled Cambodia to achieve impressive growth and make inroads into poverty. Supported by prudent fiscal and monetary policies that have strengthened the economy’s resilience to shocks, growth has averaged more...

The Second Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility of Rwanda explains macroeconomic challenges. Indicative limits on domestic debt have been established. If these limits are exceeded or inflation is rekindled, the domestic component of fiscal...

Loan review is a process routinely used by banks to assess the current value of loan portfolios. Provisioning is a technique to translate loan review results into the balance sheet. It allows for ongoing valuation of loans. Both are core elements of credit risk management and important to...

The note gives statistical data on Aruba with regard to indicators of tourism activity, components of GDP, real GDP, contributions to real GDP, growth, changes in consumer price index, and legal minimum wages. The statistical data of operations of the central government, operational budget of...

Stress tests indicate that the main vulnerabilities of the banking sector of San Marino relate to deposit outflows or to a deterioration of credit quality, and these risks are particularly high for the largest bank. There is no effective mechanism to provide liquidity to banks. The nonbank...

The authorities view the program as providing a valuable anchor for their macroeconomic policies during a period of high economic and political uncertainty, and providing access to budget financing. The discussions for this review were delayed owing to lengthening data lags resulting from the...

The fifth review of Serbia’s economic performance under the program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) is discussed. It helps in addressing the spillovers from the global financial crisis while establishing a moderate economic recovery. An accelerated pace of structural reforms will...

In this study, during 2008, the financial crisis lead Iceland’s public debt to soar from under 30 percent of GDP to more than 100 percent of GDP, and while underlying external debt came down sharply, it remains elevated at close to 300 percent of GDP. First, external sustainability is...