The staff report for the Review of the Staff-Monitored Program and Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility highlights economic developments and performance. Fiscal consolidation efforts were sustained, and public finances improved markedly in the...

The staff report for the 2004 Article IV Consultation on the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) focuses on economic developments and policies. Fiscal and structural reforms are needed for the FSM to achieve self-sufficiency. The large government sector will be increasingly unsustainable given...

This paper explains Burundi’s Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). Burundi’s social indicators reflect the effects of poverty compounded by decades of violence. The government’s Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) is based on broad...

This paper focuses on Albania’s Fourth Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), Request for a Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion, and Financing Assurances Review. Performance since the third review has been satisfactory...

The Selected Issues paper analyzes tax policy trends at the local level in Sweden and assesses the effectiveness of the vertical fiscal policy coordination system. The study reviews Sweden’s local public finances from an international perspective and empirically explores various...

The staff report for the 2004 Article IV Consultation on France highlights economic performance and near-term outlook and policies. On structural issues, a health care reform has established the key instruments to gain control over the system’s budget. Ongoing civil service reform and...

This paper discusses United Republic of Tanzania’s Fourth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria. A principal challenge for monetary policy continues to be liquidity management in the face of high foreign aid inflows. A...

This report provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in Fiji against the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency. The assessment has two parts. The first part is a description of practice, prepared by the IMF staff on the basis of discussions with the...

This report reviews the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency for Belarus. Belarus meets the requirements of the fiscal transparency code in some important areas. There is a comprehensive legal and administrative framework for management of budget resources. The Budget systems...

As envisaged in its interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, the country has moved from the stabilization phase to the reconstruction phase, and the authorities have continued to make major progress in consolidating the peace process. The important tasks will be to preserve macroeconomic...