"Last month the Government and National Bank of Belarus (NBB) announced that they would ask for a new stand-by loan from the IMF. The requests for external assistance followed several unsuccessful government attempts to overcome the serious macroeconomic crisis that has been developing in the...

The 20th anniversary of the beginning of economic reforms in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union provides a good opportunity to comment on the lessons of transition says Andrei Shleifer, a Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He made a top seven list, which might be useful to...

During the financial crisis, new EU Member States have experienced large current account deficits as a result of the freezing of financial markets. Persistently high structural debts can threaten long-term economic growth, but fiscal consolidation has to be achieved without a jump in interest rates.

The revolutionary events of January and February 2011 opened the door for democratic transition in Egypt, but the road to a stable and sustainable democracy will be long and full of challenges. However, the macroeconomic environment post-revolution has become increasingly worrying as a result of...

Azerbaijan’s current fiscal stance is quite strong; however, this stability is completely based on oil-related revenues. In the meantime, the situation with alternative sources of fiscal revenues is uncertain. A large part of fiscal management is built on opacity and an assessment of...

Funded, compulsory pension funds are under attack in Europe and beyond. But are recent policy actions likely to improve the lot of future pensioners, or will they turn out to be short-term politically-motivated fixes that ultimately make life harder?

During the last years, Hungary’s standard of living rose dynamically, but at the same time, government debt increased. The Orban government tries to reduce these debts not by austerity but by eroding purchasing power through induced inflation. By this, Hungary departs further and further...

In recent years, population ageing has attracted the attention of research and policy advisors in all European countries. Several policy actions have been directed toward ensuring optimal long-term care (LTC) for elderly people while maintaining fiscal rationality. LTC systems are very different...

The current European debt crisis is bringing to the fore well-defined cracks in the Eurozone’s construction. There are two possible scenarios for the future of the Eurozone: Either its members will have the collective will to roll back national sovereignty, or current plans for a European...

How can Trade Help to Rebuild and Enhance the Economies of the Southern Mediterranean Countries?