This Selected Issues paper reviews recent developments in growth and employment in Bulgaria and highlights key constraints to growth suggested by cross-country competitiveness studies. Bulgaria’s GDP has grown substantially since economic and financial stabilization in 1997. The global...

In South Africa, long-term insurers experienced some strains during the financial crisis, but there were no crisis-related failures. The capital markets suffered sharp declines but no systemic failures. The three standards assessments have found the regulatory system fundamentally sound. The...

Although progress has been made in strengthening the Swiss economy, systemic risks posed by large banks as well as revisions to the macroprudential framework are still in train. The authorities welcomed the too-big-to-fail (TBTF) legislation and intervention of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on...

This Selected Issues paper investigates the possible contribution of activation strategies—in a broad sense—to improve employment rates in Finland. It summarizes recent labor market developments in Finland, and investigates respectively the limitation of current unemployment and...

The three-point VAT increase is part of a package in which unemployment payroll taxes will be reduced. Risks to the recovery are balanced but the range of forecasts for 2007 is unusually wide. The priority for Germany is to transmit its external strength to the domestic economy, thus further...

The staff report highlights that the insurance sector in Sweden is well developed and mature. The captive insurance segment is mainly driven by tax advantages. This assessment provides an update on the significant regulatory and supervisory developments in the insurance sector of Sweden since...

This paper discusses the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) of Grenada for poverty reduction in the interim period. It describes the country’s macroeconomic, structural, and social policies in support of growth and poverty reduction, as well as associated external financing...

Insurance regulation in South Africa is sound and takes a thorough approach to regulation, recognizes the scale and development of the market, and the need for effective market conduct as prudential regulation. There are particular challenges in improving standards of market conduct, in both...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.