This Selected Issues paper for Algeria analyzes the potential economic impact of Algeria’s Association Agreement with the European Union (AAEU). The paper lays out the major elements of Algeria’s AAEU and makes a comparison with other AAEUs. It discusses the potential economic...

The macroeconomic environment is sound, with low inflation and a comfortable external position, although the fiscal position remains a concern for the medium term. The authorities have successfully privatized and liberalized the telecommunications, energy, and transportation sectors. Moreover,...

This paper discusses 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights slower economic performance and financial risks in Botswana. The output growth is expected to remain broadly unchanged in 2013 as strong nonmining sector growth would offset the subdued mining output. Banks’ high exposure to...

Over the last few decades, the economy of Saudi Arabia has strengthened, as oil prices increased with the rebound in global economic activity. Despite this, vulnerabilities to a sustained decline in the oil price have increased. Executive Directors have commended the authorities for their...

Japan showed strong economic recovery from the crisis. Executive Directors welcomed the development and stressed the need for a strong monetary framework, well-designed fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms. Directors agreed that the Bank of Japan’s monetary framework is well...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that in recent years, Singapore’s economy has been hit hard by a series of external shocks. These shocks—the Asian crisis, the bursting of the technology bubble, and the SARS outbreak in 2003—disrupted an economic expansion...

This paper studies the effects of demand and supply shocks in the global crude oil market on several measures of countries' external balance, including the oil and non-oil trade balances, the current account, and changes in net foreign assets (NFA) during 1975-2004. We explicitly take a global...

The economic downturns and an ongoing industrial restructuring toward capital-intensive sectors, such as chemical and pharmaceuticals, have contributed to rising unemployment. With the economic recovery continuing to gain momentum, the near-term outlook has improved. With broad agreement on the...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that Russia is in its seventh year of robust economic growth. This strong performance was ignited by the sharp depreciation in the wake of the 1998 crisis, and subsequently sustained by large terms-of-trade gains, in combination with increased...

The Mauritian economy showed strong performance owing to its sound macroeconomic policies. Executive Directors emphasized the need to remain competitive and address the growing unemployment problem. They commended the efforts to support the developments in financial services, free port...