The economy has rebounded strongly after the Covid-19 pandemic and the commodity import price shock due to Russia's war in Ukraine; output is currently near the pre-pandemic level. Higher government revenue has narrowed the fiscal deficit, but public debt is much higher than before the pandemic....

Paraguay's economy is set to grow at around 4.5 percent in 2023, led by robust agricultural production and exports combined with high electricity generation. Inflation has receded rapidly allowing for a reduction of the monetary policy rate to the current 7.25 percent. The fiscal position of the...

Macroeconomic imbalances built during the pandemic have been largely resolved, supported by strong policy responses. Inequality has declined somewhat but remains high. Weak investment and potential growth are constraining income convergence to advanced economies. Policy priorities have shifted...

The 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that Antigua and Barbuda's economy continues to bounce back from the sharp contraction experienced during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Real activity is expected to return to prepandemic levels this year, with growth projected at 5.7 percent,...

The 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that Nicaragua's economy has remained resilient in the face of multiple shocks, supported by appropriate economic policies, substantial buffers, and multilateral support. The external and fiscal positions are assessed to be sustainable under the...

This paper presents Suriname's Fourth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Extension of the Arrangement, Augmentation of Access, Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Fiscal discipline and tight monetary policy are...

This paper presents Paraguay's Second Review under the Policy Coordination Instrument, Request for an Extension of the Policy Coordination Instrument, Modification of Targets, Inflation Band Consultation, and Request of Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The...

This Selected Issues paper focuses on the neutral interest rate in Costa Rica. Estimates of Costa Rica's real natural rate of interest are between 0 and 3 percent, with a suite of semistructural and univariate methods reaffirming this conclusion at close to 1 percent. This toolkit of multiple...

This paper discusses Costa Rica's 2023 Article IV Consultation, Fifth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Second Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), and Request for Modification of Reform Measure. Costa Rica is reaping the...