This paper examines the monetary and exchange rate policies of the euro area and the trade policies of the European Union. The paper highlights that the overall economic performance of the euro area has been disappointing: growth has been weaker and inflation higher than generally expected. To a...

Syria faces two interrelated medium-term challenges posed by the prospective decline in its oil reserves. The recently approved five-year plan (FYP) laid down a comprehensive strategy to address these challenges. Syria’s public finances are headed for challenging times in the coming 10–15...

This paper assembles findings on the use of trade taxes, examines the main contributing factors, and reviews the fiscal aspects of trade policy as they relate to both efficiency and macroeconomic stabilization. It demonstrates why trade taxes would generally not be part of an optimal tax...

This Selected Issues paper provides a brief overview of the Dominican Republic authorities’ structural reform efforts in the 1990s. The paper provides a history of trade reforms, which form an integral part of the structural reform agenda. It presents a review of fiscal policy during the...

In designing policy measures, including possible social safety nets, targeted to the poor, it is important to fully understand the efficiency implications of these measures. There is abundant macroeconomic literature on their negative effects on the poor’s work effort. The literature, however,...