Reducing the budget deficit is not easy. Keynesian theory suggests thatlowering government expenditures and raising revenues can lead to afalloff in economic activity. This paper argues the neoclassical approach - that a firm and credible reduction in expenditures, by engendering confidence that...

Many countries have initiated reforms in their monetary control procedures by relaxing direct controls and increasing the role of market processes. The changed approach is often inevitable when countries reform their financial systems in support of growth and adjustment. This is because reform...

ILO pub-WEP pub. Working paper (conference paper), short term econometric model estimating the impact of economic policy on employment and incomes in Peru in 1983 - calculates interaction between external debt, balance of payments, monetary policy, fiscal policy, price policy, supply and demand...

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,...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that real GDP growth in Russia has slowed, amid weak investment and external demand. Yet, the economy remains close to full capacity, with unemployment at historic lows and capacity utilization at pre-crisis highs. Short-term indicators are mixed, but...

Considers possible adjustments in the design of Fund-supported programs, drawing on the experience of low-income countries that have successfully addressed the most apparent domestic macroeconomic imbalances

Investigates the macroeconomic challenges for low-income countries created by a surge in aid inflows. It develops an analytical framework for examining possible policy responses to increased aid, and then applies this framework to the experience of five relatively well-governed countries that...

This paper provides background to the Board paper on Macro Policy Lessons for a Sound Design of Fiscal Decentralization. It summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) for ten countries to which it provided advice on fiscal decentralization. The selected...