This Selected Issues paper for euro area policies analyzes the product market regulation and benefits of wage moderation. The paper identifies structural shifts in the relationship between wages and unemployment rates—a “wage curve” in 20 industrial countries. It reviews euro area and...

This Selected Issues paper for the Russian Federation reviews trends in private capital flows to Russia by decomposing the flows into its subcomponents. Russia became a net lender to the international banking system, as a complement to the prolonged period of large current account surpluses. The...

This paper assesses Paraguay’s First Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Nonobservance and Applicability of Performance Criteria. Paraguay has made significant progress in the first months of the program. Economic activity has strengthened, inflation prospects have...

Income and social indicators, GDP by current prices, supply and use of resources at current prices, savings and investment balances, crude oil production and prices, capital expenditure and oil exploration, discovered oil fields, mineral production, exports, and prices, production and export of...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic developments in the Union of the Comoros during 2003 were adversely affected by the difficult relationship between the Union and island governments. The related disputes regarding competencies and resources prevented the design and...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the decentralization of government in the Union of the Comoros and its economic management functions foreseen under the constitution. The paper examines the special challenge of combining a civil service reform needed to increase the efficiency of the civil...

This Selected Issues paper examines the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the recent acceleration of labor productivity growth in the United States. The analysis reveals that the increase of total factor productivity (TFP) growth is a broad phenomenon that encompasses...

This paper examines Zambia’s Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Through end-March, most of the key quantitative benchmarks and six of the eight structural benchmarks under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) were observed. The...

This Selected Issues paper for Romania reports that the practice of nonpayment and arrears accumulation has been widespread in Romania. Managers of enterprises that remain in the pipeline for privatization for long periods of time have little incentive to reduce arrears. The state contributed to...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation for Poland highlights that with strong exports and robust consumption, its GDP growth picked up gradually, reaching 6.9 percent (year over year) in the first quarter of 2004. Nevertheless, investment growth remains moderate. Financial markets have been...