Bulgaria's macroeconomic performance in the face of the prolonged slowdown in the EU has been impressive, but risks have intensified. The response of fiscal policy to these risks has been adequate. Plans to increase reliance on state enterprises to carry out public sector activities are...

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...

This paper examines Bulgaria’s 2004 Article IV Consultation and Ex Post Assessment of Longer-Term Program Engagement. Foreign direct investment inflows have been strong, reserves are rising, and competitiveness appears broadly adequate. Fiscal policy has been tightened in 2003, as the...

This paper reviews Iraq’s Request for Emergency Post-Conflict Assistance (EPCA). The authorities’ main goals under the EPCA-supported program are to improve the general welfare of the Iraqi people and address Iraq’s external debt problem. The authorities’ program is...

The staff report for the Post-Program Monitoring highlights economic developments, fiscal policy, and monetary policy. The primary risk to the near-term outlook for the Philippine economy is that the prevailing state of uncertainty proves to be protracted and sidelines economic reforms. Adverse...

Rapid growth during the second half of the 1990s led to overheating and the emergence of financial vulnerabilities by the end of the decade. Over the medium term, investment projects will impart a significant impetus to economic activity, and output will grow for some years above its long-term...

The paper reviews the policy response of major central banks during the 2007–08 financial market turbulence and suggests that there is scope for convergence among central bank operational frameworks through the adoption of those elements that proved most instrumental in calming markets. These...

We use daily data on bank reserves and overnight interest rates to document a striking pattern in the high-frequency behavior of the U.S. market for federal funds: depository institutions tend to hold more reserves during the last few days of each “reserve maintenance period,” when the...